Chapter - 39
East Blue – Conomi Isnds
Gosa Vilge
Zoro, Sanji, and Chouchou charged at the three Fish-Men as soon as they saw them, quickly taking them down.
"I could've handled them on my own, didn’t need help", Zoro said, sheathing Wado Ichimonji.
"You're all messed up, full of wounds, barely able to stand, moss head", Sanji teased Zoro.
Not wanting to get involved, Chouchou walked back over to Luffy and the others.
"Shut up, you limp-dick bastard", Zoro said, starting to get irritated.
"Oh yeah? Do you want to bring that up? Alright, be careful, you drunkard. The way you drink, you'll end up impotent soon. Isn't that right, Miss Kaya?", Sanji asked, mocking Zoro.
"Uh, well, he's right, Zoro. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to erectile dysfunction", Kaya said, blushing.
"What are you talking about, chimney? Did you do half your research? Smoking causes it too, you impotent idiot," Zoro retorted, grinning at Sanji's dumbfounded expression.
"He's right too, Sanji. Smoking also causes erectile dysfunction", Kaya said, still blushing.
"You… didn’t need to say that, Miss Kaya", Sanji muttered, clutching his chest at the pain of being called impotent by someone as beautiful as Kaya.
The two continued bickering until Nojiko stepped in. "Alright, enough! We get it. Both of you are impotent. Now can we get out of here before more of them show up?"
=Scene Break=
Nojiko led the group to her house, except for the little boy, who went back to his mother when they reached Cocoyasi Vilge.
"It’s been, what, about a year since I st stepped foot here?", Nami asked, looking around with nostalgia as she entered the house.
"Yeah, it’s been lonely without you", Nojiko said, patting Nami on the back.
"But anyway, earlier you said Arlong was going to be defeated. What did you mean by that?", Nojiko asked, turning to Luffy.
"That’s right! We’re gonna punch Arlong and his crew into the ground", Luffy said with a goofy grin.
Turning to Nami, Nojiko gave her a strange look and asked, "Nami, are your friends insane?"
"Well, they are, but the thing is, I’m tired of running from the fight. Deep down, I know Arlong won’t honor our deal, so I’ve decided to fight. And these idiots are crazy enough to follow me on this suicide mission", Nami said, adjusting the straw hat on her head.
"Hey, I’m not crazy. Now, on a different note… do Fish-Men poop?", Luffy asked, looking curious.
At such a ridiculous question, Nami just sighed, shaking her head, and turned back to Nojiko. "Sis, I need you to keep the vilgers away from Arlong Park while we’re fighting."
"Alright, I’ll do it, but I’m warning you, it’s not going to work", Nojiko said, knowing full well that the vilgers would pick up arms to try and help Nami once they found out what she was doing. Nami, however, was completely unaware that the vilgers cared about her, knowing about her deal with Arlong and all the suffering she had gone through for them.
"Of course it’ll work. They hate me, remember? They think I willingly joined the Arlong Pirates", Nami said, looking sad.
Suddenly, Luffy punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand and shouted, "I’ve got an idea and I’ve made my decision."
"Oh boy, what now, Luffy?", Nami said, rubbing her forehead.
"Nami’s sister is joining the crew, and just so you know, I refuse your refusal", Luffy said with a grin.
"What? Why? I’ve got to take care of the orange grove", Nojiko asked, confused and not understanding how Nami’s friend had reached this decision.
"Well, you two were all sad earlier because you missed each other. But since Nami’s our navigator, you’ll keep missing each other when we leave. So, after a lot of hard thinking, I came up with the only solution, you're coming with us! As for the grove, ask someone from the vilge to take care of it, and bring a piece of it with you", Luffy said, proud of his "brilliant" solution.
"But… why doesn’t Nami stay here instead?", Nojiko suggested, trying to find a solution that Luffy hadn’t mentioned.
"Nah, that’s not even an option", Luffy said with a goofy smile.
"Just give up, sis. There’s no winning here. He’ll keep insisting until you accept, speaking from experience", Nami said, patting Nojiko on the back.
"But… I… urgh, fine! I’ll help you with your dream", Nojiko said, giving in and accepting the invitation to join the crew.
"Yay! We’ve got another crew member!", Luffy cheered, doing a little victory dance.
=Scene Break=
They spent some more time talking, with Nojiko sharing stories of Nami as a child before they put their pn into action.
While Nojiko went to Cocoyasi Vilge to keep the citizens from interfering in the battle, Luffy and his crew walked toward Arlong Park to end it all once and for all.
"Let’s beat these guys to a pulp", Luffy said as they arrived in front of the massive entrance gate of Arlong Park.
Luffy then delivered a powerful punch, blowing the gate off its hinges and sending debris flying in all directions.
When all the Fish-Men turned their attention to the sudden disturbance, Luffy looked around and asked, "Which one of you big fish is Arlong?"
"That would be me. What do you want?", a rge, muscur sawshark Fish-Man said, frowning.
"I’m Luffy", Luffy said, walking toward Arlong, who was sitting on a throne.
"So what? I don’t care about your name. I want to know who you are and what you want with me", Arlong asked, irritated by the insignificant human approaching him.
"I’m a pirate", Luffy said, frowning and clenching his fists as he got closer.
Suddenly, two Fish-Men stepped in Luffy’s path and said, "Stop right there, you filthy human."
Luffy simply extended his arms, grabbed their heads, and smmed them into the ground, creating two craters with the impact, while saying, "Get out of my way."
"What does a pirate want from me?", Arlong asked, clearly angered by Luffy’s btant disregard for the superiority of his species.
Luffy then entered Gear Second, and in an instant, appeared right in front of Arlong, nding a powerful punch to his face, sending him flying backward into the rge building of Arlong Park.
“You made my navigator cry, you son of a fucking ugly bitch”, Luffy says with hatred emanating from his voice.
---
(AN: 1,071 Words)
Chapter - 40
East Blue – Conomi Isnds
Arlong Park
The Fish-Men near Arlong's location attack Luffy as soon as their minds process what just happened.
But before they can even get close to Luffy, they are swiftly taken down by Zoro, Sanji, Chouchou, and Usopp, who appear by his side.
"Leave some for us too, Captain", Zoro says, wiping blood from his sword.
"Or if you want, you can take care of everything yourself, I really don’t mind at all", Usopp says, trembling with fear at the thought of facing a bunch of them. I mean, he can handle a few, but a lot? No way, not that he’d ever admit that to anyone.
"Wow, how considerate of you, Usopp", Sanji says sarcastically.
"Well, besides all my other great qualities, Captain Usopp is also considerate", Usopp says, raising his nose in pride.
"So, you’re pirates, huh? You mentioned something about me making your navigator cry", Arlong says, emerging from the rubble, his face bruised and bleeding.
He then notices Nami arriving by Luffy’s side and says, "So it’s you, Nami. I thought you were happy being part of our crew. Why did you betray us?"
"You killed my mother. Why the hell would I be happy being part of your crew? I want to kill you. But death is too easy a way out for you. I’d rather you suffer, watching everything you built and dreamed of crumble before your eyes", Nami says through gritted teeth.
Then a Fish-Man, an octopus named Hatchan, speaks up to Arlong, "Leave them to me, big bro Arlong."
He cups his mouth like a trumpet and emits a loud sound along with a shout, "Come out, Momoo!"
Suddenly, Momoo, the Sea King cow, appears in the pool connected to the sea in Arlong Park.
"Momoo, eat these guys", Hatchan orders, pointing at Luffy and his crew.
"But they’re my friends. They gave me food", Momoo whimpers, tearing up when he sees Luffy and the others.
"That’s right, we fed the big cow, and now he’s our friend, so he’s not gonna attack us", Luffy says, crossing his arms and sticking out his tongue.
"Oh, you guys fed Momoo?", Hatchan asks, surprised.
"Yep", Sanji replies, lighting a cigarette.
"Well, thanks for doing that. I kinda forgot to feed him myself", Hatchan says, thanking the Straw Hats for their help.
"Hachi, stop being an idiot. They’re our enemies!", a Fish-Man stingray named Kuroobi yells angrily.
"Oh, right, I forgot", Hatchan says, scratching his head in embarrassment.
Not wanting to attack his new friends and sensing that everyone is distracted, Momoo takes the opportunity to dive into the water and escape before anyone notices.
"Before we start fighting for real, I want to know, does anyone here regret what they did to Nami and the isnd’s citizens?", Luffy shouts, wanting to see if anyone has any redemption left in them.
To everyone’s surprise, including the Fish-Men and Nami, Hatchan raises his hand, feeling guilty and believing that what they did wasn’t right.
"What’s the meaning of this, Hachi?", Arlong asks furiously.
"Sorry, big bro Arlong, but I really regret being part of all this, and I feel guilty. This isn’t what big bro Tiger wanted us to do", Hatchan says, guilt written all over his face.
"Shut up, Hachi! You don’t understand anything. What we’ve done here is simply show the superiority of our species to these filthy vermin", Arlong yells, enraged that Hatchan is showing empathy toward these inferior beings.
"Nah, what you’re doing is just becoming exactly like the svers sitting atop the Red Line. Your name is Hachi, right? After this fight, you’re gonna have a good talk with Jinbe, and after that, you’ll have your chance at redemption, to be someone better", Luffy says, his face serious.
"You filthy worm, did you just compare us to those disgusting scum?", Arlong asks, boiling with rage.
"That’s right. Now, enough talk, time for you to get beaten", Luffy says before charging forward, still in Gear Second mode.
Reaching Arlong, Luffy throws a 'Gomu Gomu no Jet Bullet' hitting Arlong square in the chest and sending him flying back through the hole he had previously emerged from. Luffy then enters the same hole to continue the fight.
Hatchan moves to attack Luffy when he sees him striking Arlong again and following him into the building, but he's stopped midway by Zoro, who strikes with his sword, blocking Hatchan from advancing and interfering in Luffy's fight.
"If you regret it so much and want redemption, why are you attacking?", Zoro asks, pointing Wado Ichimonji at Hatchan.
"I can regret it and want redemption, but that doesn’t mean I want to see more of my people dying at the hands of humans", Hatchan says with conviction.
"Luffy said killing you would be showing mercy, and that a better punishment would be for you to face the consequences. So after we beat and tie you up, we’re handing you over to a Fish-Man named Jinbe who’s coming here. And from what Luffy told us, the guy’s honorable and of good character, so you’ll be brought to justice", Zoro says calmly as the two circle each other.
"Big bro Jinbe is coming here? Whew, that’s a relief. You seem like good people, what’s your name?", Hatchan asks, unsheathing his six swords and getting into position.
"Roronoa Zoro", Zoro replies, also getting into position.
"Well, I’ve got to at least give you a fight, right? So let’s fight, Zoro", Hatchan says before charging at Zoro, using his own version of Soru.
While Luffy and Zoro’s fights begin, Sanji faces off against Kuroobi, taking a drag of his cigarette. As he exhales the smoke, he says, "Looks like I’m your opponent."
"You don’t even qualify as a challenge, insignificant human", Kuroobi says with disdain.
"We’ll see", Sanji replies before speeding toward Kuroobi, using Soru at full speed.
Meanwhile, Nami, Kaya, Chouchou, and Usopp are surrounded by a crowd of Fish-Men, with Chew leading them.
"With so many enemies like this, we’re screwed", Nami comments, holding her Clima-Tact.
"If we split them into groups, it’ll be easier to deal with", Kaya says beside her, holding a dagger in each hand.
"I’ve got a pn. Once I do my part, Chouchou splits the rest in half, then he takes on one half, and you two handle the other", Usopp says, loading his slingshot with ammo.
Before anyone could say anything about the pn, he aimed at Chew and fired with all his strength, shouting, " Star Bombardment: Cloud Crap!" Midway, the ammo split into several pieces, hitting not only Chew square in the face but also twenty-nine other Fish-Men in the face as well.
As the ammo hits, it creates a small cloud of smoke around their heads, causing all of them to try desperately to disperse it while gagging and retching.
When they finally clear the cloud, they turn to Usopp, seething with rage. Realizing his pn worked, Usopp runs, dashing out of Arlong Park and into the nearby forest, with Chew and the twenty-nine Fish-Men chasing after him at full speed.
As he bolts out of Arlong Park, Usopp shouts, "Now it’s up to you guys!"
Without wasting time, Chouchou transforms into his full Zoan form, using his massive body to split the remaining Fish-Men into two groups of thirty each.
And so, all the Straw Hats had their own opponents to face.
---
(AN: 1,238 Words)
Chapter - 41
East Blue – Conomi Isnds
Arlong Park
Zoro, using Observation Haki, swiftly dodges the constant attacks from Hatchan's six swords, parrying with Wado Ichimonji when he can’t avoid them.
A gap opens when Hatchan executes a very wide-angled attack, leaving his back practically exposed, and seeing this, Zoro seizes the opportunity to deliver a downward diagonal ssh across Hatchan’s back. Hatchan, realizing through his Observation Haki that he couldn’t dodge, quickly shields the area with Armament Haki, effectively defending himself.
"So you can use Haki too? Interesting, this fight's getting more fun", Zoro comments, a smile forming on his face.
"I sailed the Grand Line. Big Bro Arlong and all his officers know both types of Haki, and big bro Arlong can even use their advanced forms. You and your friends won't have an easy fight", Hatchan says, assuming a stance again and coating his six swords with Armament Haki.
"Hmm, my crew can handle themselves. As for Arlong, I don’t think he poses much of a challenge for my captain. He may not look like it, but that idiot's a terrifying monster", Zoro says before taking the initiative to resume the fight.
The two then continue exchanging increasingly intense blows, accumuting more and more cuts and scratches as the battle progresses.
Hatchan attacks with the swords in his three left arms, delivering a downward diagonal strike, which Zoro blocks with his sword, stopping all three bdes at once.
Leaving Zoro no room, Hatchan attempts the same move, this time with his three right arms, trying to strike Zoro while he’s defending the previous attack.
Seeing the attack coming with his Observation Haki, Zoro exerts even more force, breaking two of the three swords he was fighting with, forcing one of Hatchan's left arms that was holding the remaining bde back due to the enormous force exerted by Zoro.
As soon as his sword clears the barrier, Zoro follows with an upward vertical strike, defending himself from Hatchan’s fnking attack from the right.
Right after this block, Zoro thrusts his sword forward, piercing one of Hatchan's left arms, who using his Observation Haki, avoids being pierced in the shoulder.
Hatchan quickly distances himself from Zoro to recover, but this turns out to be a mistake, as Zoro begins unleashing his ‘36 Pound Cannon’ relentlessly while closing in on Hatchan, forcing him to defend against the constant ranged attacks.
As he draws nearer, Zoro increases the power of his attacks, stepping up to his ‘360 Pound Cannon’, and when he’s close enough, he unches a ‘1080 Pound Cannon’, effectively breaking Hatchan’s posture.
Taking advantage of this, Zoro follows up with a downward ssh as he reaches Hatchan.
Hatchan manages to avoid a more severe wound but ends up losing two of his left arms.
Swallowing the pain, knowing his arms would regenerate ter, Hatchan unleashes a ‘Shikai Zero, Tako Hachi Bck’, spraying a jet of bck ink toward Zoro’s face. Zoro tries to dodge but ends up blinded in one eye.
Taking advantage of the blind spot, Hatchan uses Soru to close the gap between them as Zoro tries to back away and clean his face. Hatchan then nds a brutal headbutt, leaving Zoro staggering.
With Zoro disoriented for a few seconds, Hatchan sshes with one of his remaining swords, reopening the wound Mihawk had inflicted on his torso with Kokuto Yoru.
Quickly recovering from the headbutt, Zoro delivers an improvised Spartan kick while taking the hit, buying enough time to clean his face enough to regain some visibility.
The battle continues with both trading blows, each accumuting more injuries, and by this point, both are completely exhausted and panting due to the excessive blood loss.
‘Damn, I’m at my limit. I’m not even at fifty percent after that fight with Hawkeye. I have to finish this in the next strike, I need rest. Kaya warned me about this’, Zoro thinks as he blocks a combo of five consecutive strikes from Hatchan.
Zoro then advances, delivering an upward vertical ssh, breaking Hatchan’s defense. He spins on his axis, nding a kick to Hatchan’s unprotected chest, sending him flying.
Gaining space, Zoro sheathes his sword and dashes toward Hatchan at full speed using Soru.
Mid-run, he draws his sword, coating it with Armament Haki, and attacks with an “Ittoryu Iai: Shishi Sonson”, Hatchan, having quickly recovered from the kick, sees Zoro rushing toward him and charges at full speed to meet him.
The two collide for an instant and are suddenly back to back, basically switching pces with each other, with Zoro slowly sheathing Wado Ichimonji.
As the click of the fully sheathed sword echoes, a deep, blood-spttering cut appears on Hatchan’s torso, and he colpses unconscious.
Zoro then spits out a mouthful of blood, just as he hears Luffy’s voice shouting from the sky, “Gomu Gomu no Atomic Punch!”
A loud "whooshing" sound follows, something falling from the sky at high speed before a massive crash resounds across the entire isnd, catching the attention of the isnd’s citizens who had been oblivious to the battle until now.
Zoro, dazed, watches as the fifty-story Arlong Park building crumbles before his eyes, a huge cloud of dust and debris rising as it colpses.
As the cloud disperses, Zoro stands for a few moments, staring at the destruction around him before passing out, thinking, ‘That much destruction and he wasn’t even going all out. Yeah, I’ve got a long way to go.’
Meanwhile, in Cocoyasi Vilge, the vilgers turn toward the direction where they heard the loud crash.
“What the hell was that? I even felt the ground shake”, a scarred man says quietly, looking toward where the sound came from.
“Arlong Park is over there”, one of the citizens beside him comments.
“Everyone, nothing’s happening, don’t worry, everything’s fine”, Nojiko says, approaching.
Genzo looks at the young woman in front of him for a moment before saying, “Spill it, Nojiko, what’s going on?”
“I already told you, nothing’s happening”, Nojiko says, knowing that once they found out, they’d want to help.
“If you won’t tell us, I’ll go see what’s going on”, Genzo says, starting to move.
“I’m coming too”, the vilgers begin to say one after another.
“Wait! Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise that once you know, you won’t interfere with what’s going on”, Nojiko says, raising her hands in surrender.
“I can’t promise you that, Nojiko”, Genzo says, stopping in his tracks and looking at her.
Nojiko then starts expining what’s happening, racking her brain for a way to prevent them from interfering in Nami’s fight.
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(AN: 1,098 Words)
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