First things first, I want to thank everyone for their kind words but I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have to take a small break because I am going to visit family, so I won't be posting chapter eight for around a week or so. The good news is that I am NOT going to stop writing during the visit a new chapter should be posted when I return. I apologize for this guys, really, but it's family.


They face off against Arlong, standing several feet away from the irritated Fishman and prepared to finally end the fight. "You plan to fight me two on one?" Arlong questions them. "Even if you do, what do you expect to happen? Do you even know the difference between us?"

"Nose. No, jaw," replies Luffy.

"Webbed hands?" offers Run, holding up his hands and spreading his fingers.

"Species!" bellows Arlong, lunges at the two of them. Both dodge in opposite directions, and pace backwards as he snaps at them again and again. Arlong suddenly seizes Luffy and slams him against a pillar. Run grabs his old friend by the hair of his head and stretches it out of the way of Arlong's jaws, making him bite into the pillar. Rather than shattering his teeth, he actually bites through the pillar, freeing Luffy and allowing the two of them to scramble away in the dust up.

"That power...if we get bit it's game over, Luffy."

"Do you see now, the inherent power of a Fishman?" Arlong questions them. "You Humans were created as creatures inferior to Fishmen. We've been on different levels since the moment we were born." Luffy and Run exchange brief glances before looking back at him. "I'll show the two of you the real difference between us!"

"Yeah, why don't you?" agrees Luffy, grinning. "There's no way that we'll lose to you."

"Is that so? Can you Humans even do something like bite through a pillar?" Both of them laugh in response to his question.

"Why would we need to?" Luffy crushes a huge chunk of stone with his fist while Run stomps a stray piece of stone on the ground into dust. "When we can do that? After all, biting isn't the only way to break stone, ya know."

"That's not my point! You Humans are so weak you can't even help yourselves!" He launches himself at the two of them, who dodge his jaws. Luffy stretches his arms out, and snags a pair of discarded swords before turning and swinging at him. From Run's point of view his attacks are, well...disappointing to say the least. Arlong quite easily avoids them until at last he shatters both of his borrowed blades. Luffy immediately punches him in the face, throwing him off his feet.

Run covers the distance in the next second, cocking back as he does. "Dodge it this time, Arlong," Run tells him, grinning evilly. "Sea King's Bite!" It's a strike hard enough to shatter his teeth and drive him straight down into the concrete, nearly making him lose consciousness.

"I have no idea how to use swords! I don't know how to navigate, I don't know how to cook, and I don't know how to lie! I can't do any of that but I know others that can!"

"To admit that so easily," replies Arlong, attempting to gather his thoughts after such a powerful punch. "Your crew must be quite distraught to be led by an idiot like you. I wonder why there tried so hard to save someone like you. What can you even do?"

"Beat you." Cheering from behind them, earning a growl from Arlong.

"Go ahead and babble, insects!" His teeth drop out of his mouth, and from his gums a new set emerges much to the surprise of everyone. "What's with the look? I am a shark. New teeth grow in one after another, and every time they're stronger than the last!" Arlong reaches up and pulls a set of teeth out...and then another. "Do you understand now? This is a distinct quality given to us Fishmen by the Heavens!" He holds up the sets of teeth in front of them. "Tooth...Gum!"

He lunges at them, snapping the jaws and trying to take chunks out of them while they dodge, and weave his attacks. He singles out the red-head, much to his chargin as he continues to bob and weave. "Why'd he pick me, Luffy?!" Run shouts in question, avoiding the jaws again and again.

"Hmm, maybe he doesn't like you?" offers Luffy.

"He doesn't...gee, ya think?!" Run dodges another of Arlong's attacks...and unfortunately, loses his balance when he slips on the loose rubble and water. "S-Shit!"

"Got you now!" bellows Arlong, striking at the off-balance red-head, who quickly grabs the nearest thing for a shield...that being one of the earlier defeated Fishmen. As angry as Arlong is he doesn't notice until he's already bitten the Fishman several times.

"A-Arlong...s-stop..."

"Wha- brother! How dare you? How dare you use my brother as a shield?!"

"You started it," replies Luffy rather childishly. "Ah! Hey, Run, I've got a plan!" The red-head arches a brow in question but it doesn't seem his Captain is going to be sharing it when he instead rushes forward to fight with Arlong again. Run watches the two fight, and when Luffy knocks Arlong to the ground and makes him loose another set of teeth, he's sure that he's just gonna ground and pound the Fishman...at least until he takes the teeth and shoves them into his own mouth. "Look, I've got fangs, too!"

"Luffy! That's the plan?!" screams Run. "Now is a really bad time to be screwing around!"

"Who says I'm screwing around?" Arlong chases Luffy even more fiercely than before, and even succeeds in pinning the man to the ground with a set of his teeth. He's thrown off of Luffy moments later by Run slamming his knee into his cheek. He rolls to his feet and launches back at the red-head...who can only offer up his forearm as a shield between himself and Arlong's teeth. They sink in like a hot-knife through butter, and he immediately cries out in agony. The red-head growls in fury and seizes Arlong by his nose before slamming the man head first into the concrete underfoot.

He releases immediately, and Run pulls his arm free from the jaws. "Gaaah! You rotten prick!" curses Run.

"Oi, where did he go?"

"H-Huh?" The two look around, trying to find any sort of trace that could point them to Arlong.

"The water!" exclaims Usopp. "He's in the water!" Both look towards the sea, and find only a fin sticking out of the water and moving fast.

"Aaah! A shark!" exclaims Luffy.

"That's Arlong," Run corrects him, widening his stance slightly. "Be careful."

"Shark...Darts!" Arlong launches himself out of the water at the two of them. They barely react in time, dodging by the skin of their teeth even as he sails into and creates another hole in the wall of his own building. "Wow, I'm surprised you dodged it! But...the more you dodge the harder you're making it on yourself!" They barely have time to think before he launches himself at them again, this time from the building. He's supported entirely by his nose, ram-rod straight up and down. He attacks again and again, faster and faster, leaving them no chance to dodge and trying to tear them apart.

"Get away from the water!" screams Usopp. "You need to get away from the water!"

"Hell, no!" exclaim Luffy and Run in unison. "We're gonna break that damn nose of his!" Luffy stretches his fingers out into a small wall in front of him.

"Gum-Gum...Shield!"

"Shark Darts!" He strikes Luffy's fingers, stretching them but being stopped in place. Luffy grins like a fool before he bounces off of Arlong into the wall behind him. Moments later, Arlong explodes out of the tower, streaking right towards Luffy who dodges him again. "This is it! Shark Darts!"

"Gum-Gum...Finger Net!" He stretches his fingers out like a net, and using them to capture Arlong briefly. "Now...Gum-Gum Spear!" He drills both feet into Arlong's stomach, driving him into the pavement hard enough to make him spit up blood. "Did that do it...?" The Fishman stirs, his eyes open and he fixes Luffy with a predatory glare not at all unlike a Sea King. He falls from the sky, right into Arlong's hands as he seizes him by the hair of his head, spins him around and throws him into the building.

"You filthy Human! Who do you think you are?!" He rounds on the red-head. "And you!"

"Uh-oh," grunts Run, raising his guard just in time to avoid taking the full strength of his punch in the jaw. "Aaaah! The same arm!" Luffy snags Run up by his collar and pulls him up to the roof to avoid Arlong's follow up punch that nearly pulverizes the wall. When he frees himself from the wall, he's wielding some huge jagged sword. "What the hell is that thing?!" He swings the blade, and they dodge him, watching as he destroys part of the roof and they climb higher. Higher and higher he chases them, until they have nowhere left to go. "Shit!"

He swings again, and they duck quickly before diving through the nearest window in an attempt to escape. In a storm of shattered glass, stone and splintered wood they go sprawling across the floor of the room. "Looks like you two have run out of places to hide," calls Arlong, stepping through the hole in the wall that he's created.

"What the? This room is full of papers," observes Luffy.

"Papers? There aren't just papers. There are all maps!" The two look around the room. It's little more than a desk, a chair, and papers...thousands of papers. "Aren't they great? These are my treasures! For eight years I've had her making these sea-charts for me!" Arlong points the blade at the two of them. "Nami's skills should be used for the Fishmen only! Her talent is wasted on you!" From the desk beside them, a pen drops to the ground...a pen with a crush of dried blood covering it. Run picks it up and turns it over in his hand several times.

"This...This pen is covered in blood," mutters Run, squeezing it a bit tighter.

"Nami's charts are absolutely vital if I am going to attain world supremacy for the Fishmen! She is going to continue drawing sea-charts for my ambitions! With her at my side, we Fishmen will be invincible! Our empire will spread across the world! Could you ever use her as efficiency as that?!" A loud 'snap!' punctuates the sentence as the pen snaps between Run's fingers. The red-head reaches out with his left hand, and gently places his hand on the jagged sword.

"Use her?" One of the jagged teeth of the blade is crushed seconds later. "You rotten bastard!"

"Don't talk about our navigator like she's some kind of tool!" bellows Luffy, kicking Nami's desk through the wall with ease. They set about destroying the room, shelves, book cases, anything and everything that could have been used by Nami they completely destroy.

"What do you think you're doing?!" demands Arlong, swinging his sword at them and succeeding only in destroying the sea-charts that Nami has created. "T-The charts! My sea-charts!" Luffy scatters a stack of charts, trampling the papers without concern. He seizes Luffy and slams him into the wall. "I've invested eight years in these charts..." Without warning he bites onto Luffy's neck, sinking his teeth into the flesh with ease. "...they are my ambition!" Run leaps onto Arlong's back, seizes his nose and begins wrenching his head back to open his jaws.

His jaw strength is over-whelming, and Run's muscles burn from exertion as Arlong's mouth slowly begins to open...at least until Arlong's nose finally gives out with a loud 'snap!' twisting skyward at a hard angle. Arlong releases him immediately, stumbling back and raising his hands to grip his now broken nose. "I don't really give a crap about any of that. But...I've figured out exactly what to do." Run releases Arlong's nose, and with a heavy kick to his back leaps off of the large Fishman sending him stumbling away. "Nami can't leave because of this room...so because of that we're going to destroy it completely!" The red-head cracks his knuckles loudly.

"Gum-Gum..."

"Sea King's..."

"Don't get cocky! You think Arlong Park can be destroyed by a pair of weaklings like you?!" Arlong reaches up, straightens out his nose and lowers his stance. "Shark Tooth Drill!" He launches himself at the two, whirling around and around like a tornado.

"...Battle-Axe!"

"...Bite!" The attacks impact Arlong in the center of his back, driving him straight down through every floor of Arlong Park and right into the foundation. The whole building begins shaking moments later, wood splintering and stone cracking. "Luffy, the place is coming down! We need to go!"

"Oh, crap...!"


Rubble...Arlong Park has been reduced to rubble. What was once a grand structure is now little more than a heap of concrete, splintered wood and broken glass...and with neither Luffy or Run anywhere to be seen. Panic wells up in Nami as she watches the dust settle. There's no movement, no noise...nothing at all. The last of the dust settles, and everyone holds their breath, waiting for some kind of sign, anything to give them an idea of who won and who lost...and they aren't disappointed. Two men suddenly burst free of the rubble, tossing off wood and concrete with ease to stand on top of the pile.

"NAMI!" bellows Luffy. "YOU'RE OUR FRIEND, GOT IT?!" The villagers break out into celebration around a crying Nami. The two descend the pile of rubble into the cheering crowd of villagers, and while Luffy is happy to bask in their adulation, Run decides to simply stand by and watch. He doesn't feel is really his victory to celebrate. However, all good things seem to come to an end and the celebrating is no exception when a group of marines show up on the scene.

"Hold it right there, no one move!" demands a rat-looking man. "I watched the entire fight, and I must say I'm surprised. I never imagined that a crew of no-names pirates like you lot would be able to defeat that band of Fishmen pirates. I hereby claim all of the valuables in Arlong Park as my own! I will be taking credit for all that you've done!" Zoro approaches the man and his marines from behind, and grabs hold of the back of his collar rather tightly if his panic is anything to go by.

"I hate party crashers," Zoro tells him. A sound beating delivered at the hands of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Run is all it takes to completely subdue the whole lot of them. When they're done the red-head kneels down in front of the rat-looking colonel, doing his best to look his most intimidating.

"So, listen up, Mr. Mouse," begins Run calmly. "Captain's too nice to say it so I will. You and your little marines here are going to clean this place up. Any money, or valuables that you find? Those belong to the people on the island. If I find out that you even took a single Beli from this place-" He pauses to pick up a huge chunk of stone and then crushes it into dust with ease. "-I'll do that to your skull. Got it?"

"Awfully aggressive of you, Red."

He nods quickly in understanding, and when Run stands and crosses his arms the man decides that it's time for a quick escape, swimming out to sea. "I swear I'll get you for this!" screams the colonel from relative safety. "You straw-hat man, and you with the red-hair! Your names are Luffy, and Run, right?! You'd better be prepared because I'm going to have my revenge! You wait and see...!"


The first thing that they did after everything was said and done...was head to the doctor to have their wounds treated. Zoro's injuries were the most extensive, they needed to be disinfected, restitched and bandaged again before the doctor would even think about turning him loose. "Honestly, what the hell were you thinking?!" demands the doctor. "You can't treat a wound this size on your own, you need professional care! Don't you folks have a medical professional on your crew?"

"Negative," replies Run, wrapping cotton dressing around the bite on his arm. "We should really get one, Cap'n."

"A doctor? Sounds like a good idea," agrees Luffy. "But first we need a musician! Pirates sing, after all!" Run shakes his head slowly in response but continues bandaging his own wounds. After their wounds had been treated professionally, it was time to party! Three days and nights are spent in a blur of food and drink for the crew...mostly drink for Zoro and Run who spend much of their time away from the crowds and drinking in comfortable silence or the closest thing to it.

It was on one such occasion that they were joined by Sanji in the alley they'd taken shelter in. "Had enough partying?" Run asks him, tilting his glass back and drinking deep. "Or are you taking a smoke break?"

"Just taking a rest, Red," Sanji tells him. "I also came to check up on the two of you. How are your wounds, Zoro?"

"Food and drink has fixed me right up," Zoro tells him plainly. "But how long are these people gonna celebrate? It's been three days!" Luffy chooses to make an appearance at that moment, inquiring about some kind of strange melon that Sanji had eaten earlier before running off to find it.

"Well...now that that's settled...I've got some very important things to do!" The cook runs off into the crowd much to the amusement of Zoro and Run.

"Are you going to go chasing women, too?"

"Hah, another time maybe," Run tells him.

"I guess I'll go get something to eat. See ya 'round, Red." The swordsman stands, and walks out into the crowd leaving Run alone in the dim alley. The red-head raises his glass, tilts his head back and empties it in a few seconds. He lowers the mug and blinks in surprise when he finds someone in a hooded cloak sitting across from him. He tenses in preparation for anything this person may attempt...only to relax slightly when the smell of a familiar perfume reaches him.

"I see you're doing alright, Robin." She casually brushes back the hood of her cloak. "I take it you made your escape fairly easily."

"It was no problem, Run," Robin replies, crossing her long legs...which Run openly admires for several moments. Robin actually smiles a bit at his attention. "You should be proud of yourself. After everything you've done on this island, I'd say you're well on your way to becoming a wanted pirate."

"I hope they give me a good title," Run says offhandedly. "Honestly, I'm surprised that it took you this long to find me again." She arches a single brow in response and he chuckles. "Well, you always seem to know where I'm at, and when I'm alone. I'm just a little surprised that you didn't find me sooner."

"I thought I'd let you bask in your victory."

"And now that I have let me guess...you thought you'd congratulate me?"

"I thought I'd tell you to be on your guard. Even if you don't end up with a bounty on your head, you've certainly made yourselves known. Taking down Buggy, then the Black Cat Pirates, and now Arlong and his group. Word is going to get around quickly."

"I appreciate your concern, Robin. But there's really no point in getting all worked up over something that hasn't happened, yet." He heaves a bit of a sigh, and looks at the bottom of his empty mug. "And, honestly...you don't have to worry about me."

"Even if you tell me not to I'm still going to be worried." A small group of drunken villagers pass close to the entrance of the alley, and Robin quickly pulls her hood up, hiding her face from them. "I should go." She stands quickly and turns away from the mouth of the alley. "Until we meet again, Run."

"Suit yourself, Robin." She disappears down the alley, and into the shadows without another word. The red-head heaves a heavy sigh and looks again at the empty glass in his hand. "I need a refill..."


Time to set sail, and leave Cocoyashi village. The Going Merry is being restocked with everything that they might need for the trip to the Grand Line. Zoro carries up the last crate, and hands it off to Run who places it beside another stack of them. "That all?" Run asks.

"Yeah, that's it, Red," replies Zoro. "We're ready to set sail any time." From the dock, Johnny and Yosaku call to the crew to get their attention. They tell them all that even though they've had a lot of fun its time to get back to their job as bounty-hunters, and that they hope to meet again someday.

"Oi, has anyone seen Nami?" Usopp questions them all.

"Maybe she decided not to join us?"

"Wha?! What do you mean?!" demands Sanji. "Nami is like 98.46% of the reason that I joined!"

"So, you're only 1.54% loyal to the crew, then, cook?" A commotion from the dock again draws their attention to their navigator standing several yards away from the group at the end of the dock.

"Let's get moving!" screams Nami, starting to sprint towards the ship. With some hesitation they do as asked, weighing anchor and setting the sails as Nami draws closer and closer, weaving this way and that through the crowd of villagers gathered together.

"Is it alright to let her do this?" Sanji asks aloud.

"If it's what she wants to do," Luffy replies bluntly. When she reaches the end of the dock, she leaps the distance between the dock and the Going Merry. While they all seem to be upset that they won't be able to say goodbye to one of their own, this seems to disappear when she lifts the hem of her shirt and allows a large number of wallets to drop out.

"Glad to see everything thats happened hasn't put a damper on her spirits."

"She's gonna betray us again, isn't she?"

"Good job, Nami!" With everything and everyone on board...it was time for them to set sail for the Grand Line...