Since my last update, I have had to endure an attempt on my life, an 8-day stint in the hospital, having to drop out of college, move back in with my parents, and a general upheaval of what passed for my peace of mind. It was like Law was in a bad mood and went nuts with Shambles. Forgive me if it took me a little while to get back to writing!

Moping done. On to the fic!


"Marry me!" Pearl moaned as he bit into a kebab.

Patty rolled his eyes. "Okay, at first that was funny, but that's the sixth time tonight! Are you all that drunk or do I give off that vibe? Because I can tell you right now that I got no interest in your schnitzel."

"Chillax, bro. It's just you're an awesome cook, and the way to a man's heart is his stomach," Buchi explained, pulling his new best friend away from attempting to plant one on the harried cook.

It was almost midnight, but the party was still going strong. The Armada was all huddled in a little triangle with the Baratie safe in the middle, and food and drink were flowing freely. The crews had started out segregated, but as the night wore on and the alcohol kicked in, they'd swung on ropes (with often comical results) from ship to ship to mingle and make new buddies. As Luffy said, they were all nakama.

"Everybody, step right up! It's time to play 'Hit the Buggy'! Ten points if you hit his chest! Fifty points if you hit his head! Can you touch the amazing splitting man? Come and see!" Usopp shouted, having obtained a candy-striped vest and cane from somewhere and gesturing to the various parts of Buggy floating all over the place.

"When I say 'one, two, Jango', you will be a prima donna ballerina. One, two, Jango!" slurred the hypnotist. A moment later, Carne had launched into a spirited performance of Swan Lake, to the rousing laughter of anyone that watched.

"A toast! To Zoro-sensei proving he's a bamf!" Cabaji shouted from the mast of the Bezan Black.

"KANPAI!" shouted everyone who heard before sucking down their cups.

Zeff chuckled to himself as he sucked on a cigar. He'd turned off the kitchens after the last batch of snacks, and he was enjoying the atmosphere now that he wasn't working to fuel it. "I'd forgotten how rowdy these kinds of parties could get. How'd I ever leave this behind?"

"How should I know, shitty geezer?" Sanji puffed on his own cigarette. He preferred a quick fix over the heavy-duty shit his old man smoked.

Zeff growled "Cheeky eggplant," before glancing at all the antics of the men. "It's weird. I expected it to be a bunch of suspicious groups warily forced to work together by the top dog, but it feels more like one huge crew grouped into teams. I wouldn't have believed it possible."

Sanji chuckled. "Luffy's the son of the devil. I'm not sure there's anything he can't do once he sets his mind to it."

Zeff gave his son a look from the corner of his eye. "You seem awfully sure considering you've barely known him a week. Something you're not telling me, lil' eggplant?"

Sanji was too mellowed by good booze and nicotine to tense. "That's for me to know and you to find out, crap geezer."

Zeff snorted and almost set fire to his mustache. "Whatever. I don't really care. I've never seen you so happy. If that eggplant king has something to do with that, than that's all I need to know."

Sanji felt his heart melt. "Thanks, pops."

There was a quiet moment of peace.

"Though if I catch you having sex in my kitchen, I'm cutting it off with my cleaver," Zeff tacked on.

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU CRAZY GEEZER?! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT! I DON'T LIKE GUYS! I LIKE LADIES! LADIES! WITH THE BOUNCY-BOUNCY AND THE JIGGLE-JIGGLE AND THE SQUISH-SQUISH! HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET THAT IDEA?!" Sanji exploded.

Kadoo tilted her head. She'd managed to catch that. "Hey, if Sanji was gay, wouldn't he and Zoro make an awesome couple?"

"Thank god!" Kaya shouted, startling Nami. The girls had been clustered together having some much-needed gossip while the menfolk acted like idiots. "I thought it was just me! You're right, they'd be freaking hot! Zoro's all strong and stoic, Sanji's awesome in kitchen and he's so flexible! Plus they're always fighting, so they'd have tons of rage and make-up sex! I'd pay my fortune to see that!"

"You've already paid it to do it yourself with Usopp," Nami reminded her roommate, her face pinched. The ridiculousness of the pairing aside, she found she simply didn't like the idea of Sanji with anyone. Why the hell was that?

"Speaking of the long-nose, does he earn all those screams of yours, or are you just trying to puff his ego?" Kadoo asked, leaning in.

"Girlfriend, he's a GOD. And it's not just his nose that's long, tee-hee!" Kaya giggled.

"Right, well, I just remembered I've got that, uh… that, uh… screw it, I'm leaving." Nami fled to the other end of the Merry. She did NOT need to know the details about Usopp's 'stuff'. Sure, he'd seen her in all her glory, but that was so she could get money. Hmm, wonder if they'd pull that again. Given how many more men were on the crew, she'd get rich off Happiness Punch… if they could actually pay up. Aw, well, you can't win them all.

Nami shook her head and looked up to find she'd somehow made it onto the Big Top. While Luffy just jumped from ship to ship, the rest of the Armada had gotten very good with swinging on ropes from the mast. So much so, that she could manage it unconsciously while buzzed. Hmm. She burst into giggles as she saw Luffy leading a Congo line with Gaimon and all the pets behind him. She'd seen him with Shushu a lifetime ago, but she'd never realized how good Luffy was with animals.

If only that extended to Fishmen.

"Hey, Captain!" she called out, sobering up.

"Yeah?" he asked, appearing at her side. His stomach was a little distended, but he wasn't a bowling ball like she'd come to expect when he ate at a party. He'd really learned self-control!

Nami frowned, chiding herself for getting side-tracked. "Look, I know we've been putting it off to make sure Zoro's okay, but my deadline to get back to Arlong Park is tomorrow. If I'm late, he'll start killing someone for every day I don't show up. Don't you think we should let them know?"

Luffy frowned. "Shit, you're right. Wait, how off schedule are we?"

Nami shrugged. "I showed up two days earlier the 'first' time. How much difference could two days make?"

Luffy kept his mouth shut. If they'd been two days late getting to Arabasta, Crocodile would have wound up King of the smoking crater that was once Alubarna. But he didn't want to break it to Nami. Hopefully nothing really bad happened. If it had… well, they all had to learn that things weren't going to be peaches and cream just because they knew one version of how things could turn out.

"Right. Well, I probably should let them know." Taking a deep breath, so much so he swelled up, he screamed "A-TEN-HUT!"

In an instant, all revelry ceased as the members of the Straw Hat Armada stood at attention. "HAI, CAPTAIN!"

Luffy chuckled. "At ease! I just have something important to say!" He really didn't want his crew to wind up like some anti-Marines. They were pirates, first and foremost.

As everyone got comfortable, Luffy cleared his throat. "Men, there's something I haven't told you. You see, Nami here," Luffy gestured to Nami, who gave a shy wave. This wasn't exactly what she expected. "She's got a problem. See, she was already part of another crew when she joined me. The Arlong Pirates, to be exact!"

"ARLONG?" Siam asked, looking as scared as when he pulled off his act.

"No wonder she's so scary," Larry commented, getting many nods at the Stooge's wisdom.

"Even the Don knew better than to mess with those guys," Gin said to himself.

"Alright, quiet down!" Luffy shouted. "The thing is, Nami didn't join of her own free will. When she was ten years old, Arlong and his gang invaded her island. He made everyone pay for their own lives, each month. Now Nami and her mother and sister weren't very wealthy. So her mother paid for her and her sister, to keep her daughters safe, and then Arlong killed her. Right in front of Nami."

Nami looked away. She was determined not to cry, though seeing how almost every face filled with anger on her behalf almost did her in. These men, who'd once been her enemies, were now sad that she was sad. It was so weird… and kind of heartwarming.

"As if that weren't enough, Arlong saw one of Nami's maps. He decided that no one but him could have such awesome maps, so he forced Nami to join his crew. And so, for eight long years, she's been forced to work for her mother's murderer, using her precious navigation skills to help her people's oppressors, hated by her friends that thought she betrayed them. And it was all because of ARLONG!"

A roar of rage filled the night.

"So you're going to go kick his ass, right Captain Luffy?" Mohji shouted.

Luffy gave a little grin. "Oh, I'm not going to kick his ass. You guys are."

The righteously angry mob went silent so fast it was like flipping a switch.

"Um, what do you mean, Don?" asked Woge, the navigator of the Don Pirates. He was basically Nami's exact opposite: male, generous, soft-spoken, with ice-blue hair. But he had a natural talent, unlike Moe and Buchi who just were interested and receptive to lessons.

"They're Fishmen weirdoes! There's no way we can beat them." Jango protested.

"I thought you said you weren't going to just use us as meat shields, Straw Hat!" Buggy accused.

Luffy frowned and raised a hand to quiet the grumbling. "Look, I'm not doing this because I'm scared or lazy. I'm not making you guys do this just because I don't want to. Believe me, I want to. I want to make Arlong bleed for everything he's done to Nami. But if I keep swooping in to take out all the bad guys, how are any of you going to get any stronger? Sure, we train every day, and you're all coming along nicely, but the only way to really tell how good you are in a fight is to fight. I can't be everywhere. If I shelter you all, then one day we come across too many guys for me to handle, how will you guys deal with it? I mean, sure, Zoro and Sanji and Nami and Usopp can help too, but as you all saw, we're not undefeatable. We aren't the only ones in our league, and when we fight, it can get close. Just look at Zoro! He won, but he almost died. He can still barely talk! It can't always be up to us to handle the fights. You guys need to do it too. For God's sakes, that's why we have an Armada: so we can all help each other when the fight goes down! And I NEED to be sure that you guys are up to the challenge!"

Luffy looked down on them all, and the weight of his expectation fell on each of them. "The Arlong Pirates are Fishmen. They can breathe underwater and are ten times stronger than humans. But that doesn't mean shit if you worked hard enough! I'm ten times stronger than Buggy or Gin, but that's because I earned it! I bled and sweat for that power! But if I pigged out and did nothing for a year while they worked for it, they could beat me easy! Listen; Arlong's gang might be from the Grand Line, but for the past eight years, they've done NOTHING! All they've done is hide out on Nami's island and terrorize ordinary humans. They've gotten soft! But you guys," Luffy grinned with pride, "you guys have been working so hard. You've done everything I've asked without complaint, because you know it's important to get ready for the Grand Line! You can take Arlong's crew! And if you can't, then it won't because they were Fishmen and you were human. It will be because you didn't fight HARD enough, didn't WANT it enough, because you GAVE UP!"

The men were almost in tears.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings! I love you guys! We're nakama! I'm just trying to tell the truth." Luffy took a breath. "You NEED this fight, boys. You need to prove to me that you're ready for what lies ahead! But even more important, you need to prove to YOURSELVES that you're ready. You need to see what all this training is for! You need to see what it's like to fight an enemy above your level and overcome them because you HAVE to! Because losing is NOT an option! Because if you lose, then that bastard is going to hurt your nakama! You need to prove that you're WORTHY to carry the name of Straw Hat! You came to me as different crews: Buggy, Black Cat, Krieg! But now, in your hearts, you are all the same. We fight with one mind, our blood beats with one heart! We. Are. NAKAMA!"

A many-voiced roar of pride shattered the night.

"So tell me boys, what are you going to do to those Arlong bastards that MADE NAMI CRY?!"

"KICK THEIR ASSES!" spoke the Armada.

"We're going to avenge Nami-sama!" shouted Shemp.

"We will prove ourselves to the Don!" proclaimed Pearl.

"And give those stinking Fishmen jerks the boot!" yelled Buchi, almost feral.

"And we'll have the victory feast piping hot and waiting for you!" proclaimed Carne.

"VIVA LA REVOLUTION! POUR L'AMOUR!" cried Sanji, visibly steaming.

Usopp shot off some fireworks into the sky, which only riled the men up more. This was no longer a party. It was the eve of war.

As Luffy nodded, satisfied his speech hadn't failed, he turned to Nami. She was looking at him with an unexplainable expression.

"What? Do I have something on my face? Is Hat crooked?" Luffy reached up to pat his head.

Nami shook her head. "This is going to sound weird… but you'd have been a damn good Marine."


The fact their blood was boiling didn't change the fact that a large percentage of it was alcohol. Plus it was important to get sleep for the fight ahead, so the men settled down and fell asleep by 1. Some of the Buggy Pirates thought they were still dreaming when Luffy woke them only to say that there would be no training today. Luffy told them and the other crews as he woke them to mentally prepare. Today was game day.

Each ship enjoyed breakfast and coffee to help with the hang-overs, prepared by the Baratie cook assigned to their ship for the day. It had been deemed impractical to have each crew actually go aboard the Baratie each meal time, especially when the ships were moving, so the staff had been put on a rotation of the ships. Except for Sanji, who handled all things Straw Hat crew in the food department. It worked out, since Zeff needed his men to actually sail his boat. He'd been in a pirate mind when he had it made, so it was almost as fast as Merry despite the weight and unusual shape, but the steering was tricky and required half his cooks working full-time paddling the bikes that powered the mechanism that worked the tail. It was a win-win situation, since his men needed to build some serious leg power to make his fighting style work.

Once they finished eating, the captains were summoned to Merry's galley for a planning session.

Zoro wearily greeted Buggy, Jango, and Gin, before returning to his nap. He hadn't even kicked up a fuss when he'd been told in no uncertain terms he wasn't going to participate in the fighting on Commi Island. Even he couldn't shrug off this much damage. It helped that Kaya actually had chains to threaten him with (exactly why she owned them was something that didn't bear thinking about).

"Okay, boys, let's begin." Nami unrolled a large map of Commi Island, with all the villages clearly marked. She pulled out a variety of colored paperweights, courtesy of Usopp. "Our target is the Arlong Pirate crew. The captain is Arlong himself, and he focuses on using his Fishman abilities in combat. His officers are Kuroobi, a karate master; Chew, a long-distance fighter; and Hacchi, a swordsman. There's roughly 80 crewmembers under them. They all spend most of their time here, in Arlong Park." Nami placed four of the marks on a spot on the map. "However, at any given moment, at least ten are out on patrol. These are the usual routes." She marked some x's on spots near the coast and made lines to show the route of each man. "It's worth mentioning that he has the local Marine Captain bribed.

"Here's my plan. We stash the ships in this cove, between Cocoyashi and Gosa. I report to Arlong, act as if everything's fine. The Black Cats will show if they've learned any stealth and ghost through the forest, and take out the patrols, preferably quietly. I will lure Arlong here, to my family's tangerine grove. When he leaves, the Don and Buggy crews storm the Park, with the Black Cats providing reinforcements if they finish in time. By the time Arlong gets back, the fight should be over, or close enough. When he goes ballistic, and he will, Luffy steps in to knock him down."

"What happened to us taking on Arlong?" Buggy asked.

"That was to inspire the men. You didn't honestly expect me to let you guys take on a former officer of the Sun Pirates, did you?" Luffy raised a brow. Buggy looked away, blushing.

Nami rolled her eyes. "Luffy will stay with the ships and use his Observation to keep tabs on everything. If anything gets FUBAR, he can be there fast enough to intervene. Usopp and Kaya will go to Arlong Park to provide support, Sanji will keep an eye out for the Marines, and Gaimon and the Baratie will guard the fleet."

"Those cute animals are on guard duty?" Gin asked skeptically.

"Appearances are deceiving. They've all been mimicking the crews in training, and Mohji has 'taught' them how to fight. They can handle themselves. Add that to Red-Leg Zeff himself, and we're safe."

Jango pursed his lips. "Seems like a decent enough plan. Though I don't know whether to feel relieved or insulted that my guys are responsible for only ten while the others are charging the fort."

"The fight at Arlong Park is going to be loud and messy. You're expected to take down these scouts without any of them raising the alarm. You'll need to coordinate to take them down fast and hard. The guards all have Baby Den-Den Mushi's with a direct line to Arlong. Yes, you have Luffy as a safety net, but this is supposed to be a field test of how you'll do in the Grand Line. And there's some time-sensitive stuff our nakama are involved in in Paradise, so we don't have time to wait."

Buggy launched his hands at the ceiling. "What the hell is with these 'nakama' of yours? How do you have this information? I'm still trying to puzzle out how Sanji knew you guys since based on everything I've heard, he's never left that restaurant since Zeff-sama built it! And there's still four more, if Luffy wasn't lying when I first asked. Who are they and where are they, exactly?"

Usopp tickled his chin. "Well, we're meeting our doctor on Drum Island, our archaeologist on Arabasta or perhaps Whiskey Peak, our shipwright in Water 7 and our musician…" For some reason, Usopp went pale as the crewmate he was about to name. "Um, yeah, so don't worry about that stuff. It's our little secret."

Buggy huffed and let it go. "Forget it, it's not worth the headache. This seems simple enough. When do we reach the island?"

"Two hours. Do whatever you guys do to pump up your crews before a fight." Nami waved them out before turning on Usopp. "Okay, what is it?"

Usopp looked to be fighting tears. "Brook."

"What about him?" Sanji asked. Luffy's lips had thinned to a line.

"After 50 years in the darkness, 50 years with nothing but his memories to keep him company, he got one month with us. Then he got separated from us for two whole years. And then, after finally getting back together with us for barely another two weeks… he woke up back on that ship. With absolutely no concrete proof that it wasn't all a dream."

Kaya covered her mouth. "How horrible!"

Nami and Sanji looked like they'd been punched in the gut.

Luffy sighed. "I thought about that. And there's no way Franky or Robin went to get him, because he's still missing his shadow. I'm not saying they couldn't take on Moria, but they wouldn't take the risk. It would change too much, and they couldn't have known we were all sent back." He clenched his fists so tight they went white. "The truth is, I'm not sure what state Brook will be in when we meet him. He was so lonely before we found him. This might have been the final straw. He might have… cracked."

"Don't say that!" Nami screamed.

Luffy didn't react to her. "I'm hoping Chopper will know some way to fix him. I even thought about bringing Laboon with us to meet him, but when we got to Sabaody he'd have the same problem as he does at Reverse Mountain, and having to separate again would probably do more harm than good."

Zoro forced his eyes open. "He'll be okay. He's miserable right now, but he's fine. He's a Straw Hat. He knows we're coming for him."

"Thus spoke the Great Marimo," Sanji muttered. "Anyway, we need to get ready. Let's just put it out of our minds and hope for the best. For all we know he beat that zombie that had his shadow and he's waiting for us with Laboon."

"Man that would be a dream come true. Literally!" Usopp sighed and went out. After one last check on Zoro, Kaya followed. It looked like her boyfriend needed some comforting. Sanji went outside for a smoke. Luffy gave Nami a hand on Nami's shoulder in silent support and left. The woman sighed and looked down at the map, alone but for Zoro's snores.

Time to face her demons. Again.


The ships made good time, the usual antics of the crews muted in light of the ordeal ahead. The chimney of the Baratie was already releasing smoke, meat simmering for the victory feast. It was an optimistic gesture, but also a self-fulfilling prophecy; the men would fight to the last breath just so they could earn the right to eat that food.

"Land ho!" shouted the lookout from the Bezan Black, alerting the Armada. Everyone looked up from their jobs to glance at the horizon, where Nami's homeland and the lair of their toughest enemy yet was just visible.

It was then that the men got their first taste of the Grand Line.

With no warning, an explosion seemed to happen in the sea right next to the Baratie.

"Bohze moi!" shouted Myassa.

As the water settled, it became clear that there was some creature hidden within the spray. It cleared to reveal what appeared to be a cow, only with green spots instead of black, and a scaled belly. Its maw was open, showing that unlike its land-based counterpart, it wasn't an herbivore, as evidenced by the many serrated teeth. If the many strings of saliva dripping from them were any indication, it was hungry.

"MOOOOOOO! (RAWRRRRRRR!)"

"What the hell is that?" shouted Siam.

"It's a Sea Cow! There's a family of Sea Kings that look like land animals, but they're unique to the Grand Line! Arlong must have brought it along with him!" Buggy answered, his eyes wide. "Nami, something you forgot to mention?"

"Oh, yeah. That's Mohmoo, Arlong's pet." Nami shrugged, totally unconcerned. "Must have slipped my mind."

"HOW COULD THAT MONSTER HAVE POSSIBLY SLIPPED YOUR MIND?" Buggy demanded.

Mohji tapped his captain's shoulder. "Um, Captain? Did you forget we have a bigger monster?"

Buggy turned to see Mohmoo no longer looming over the Baratie, looking a second from attacking. Instead, he was sunk in the water down to his head, eyes wide, looking at Luffy, who was holding up his hand in a 'stop' motion. The light seemed to be bending weirdly around them, a physical hint at the presence of Haki.

"Your name is… Mohmoo?" Luffy asked.

As if afraid one twitch in the wrong direction would bring about his certain doom, Mohmoo nodded slowly.

"You have a choice to make, Mohmoo. Choose between me and Arlong. If you choose me, I will make you my pet. I will feed you and love you and give you a family. If you choose Arlong… I will make you lunch."

Mohmoo shivered. This two-legs was even smaller than Arlong. But somehow, he was more scared than he'd ever been in his life. He didn't want to get eaten. Taking a breath, he flipped over, going belly-up. By putting himself in such a helpless position, he showed his submission.

Luffy grinned and dropped the aura. That was the fastest that'd ever happened. Then again, it wasn't fair comparing the comparatively gentle Sea Cow to the monsters of Rusukaina. He reached out to rub the aquatic bovine's belly. "Good boy." Stretching behind him, Luffy plucked Gaimon by the hair and dragged him over. Ignoring the harrumph of the box-man, Luffy spoke to the righted Mohmoo. "This is Gaimon. He's going to take care of you and show you how my pets should act." That done, Luffy hopped back to Merry.

Seeing the faces of most of the other three crews all staring at him, Luffy tilted his head. "What?"

They one and all hung their heads. Their captain was a monster among monsters.

Nami sighed. "You get used to it boys. That or have a manic episode!"

Luffy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll be napping and listening." So saying, he laid back on his special seat, plopped Hat on his face, and went still.

In short order, Nami had navigated them to the cove. It was a tight fit, but that was the price of privacy; no patrols came to this cove because it was too small to easily maneuver out of. The Baratie staff took a break from feast prep to wave goodbye to the crews, gathered on the beach.

Nami took a moment to check up on her Clima-Tact. She'd only finished all the tinkering last night and she didn't want to miss anything. "Weather Eggs loaded? Check. Alloy strengthened? Check. Heat, cold, and shock gates modified? Check. How did I pay for borrowing and slightly destroying Usopp's tools in the process? Check." Her inspection done, Nami twirled her trusty miracle baton a few times before breaking apart and clipping the segments to her belt.

"Alright!" Nami shouted, ceasing the chatter. She was back in the forest-camo tank she'd worn the 'first' time, to help her get in character. "Black Cats, search and destroy. Don and Buggy, set up the ambush. Usopp and Kaya, make sure they don't get killed. Sanji-kun, keep an eye out for the rat. Ready? BREAK!"

"Good luck! Kick some Fishman ass!" Patty called out.

"You're a very special animal, yes you are," Gaimon cooed, all his attention on Mohmoo.

Luffy gave a tiny snore.

With that, Operation Shark Hunt was a-go!


Nami walked down the dirt path she knew so well, feeling a curious mixture of giddiness and dread coil in her belly. She could hear the rustling as the two crews shadowed her through the trees, waiting for when Arlong left and they could attack the park. Really, there was no reason to be nervous. As opposed to last time, they had the numbers, the knowledge, and she herself could probably take on Arlong and win with her Sorcery Clima-Tact. Victory was all but assured. So why did she have this sinking feeling that something was going to go wrong?

Before long, she had reached the gates of Arlong Park. She looked up at the tower where she'd spent so many unhappy years. She took a deep breath, reaching for the mask she'd made to survive among her tormentors. As she reached forward for the handle, something glinted at the corner of her eye. On reflex, she turned, hoping to find a coin or dropped piece of jewelry.

Nature had not been kind to the corpse. The sun had already baked the moisture out of the skin, giving it the leathery tone of a mummy, though the lividity marks suggested it was reasonably fresh. Crows had already picked out the eyes, their sharp talons leaving harsh scratch marks on the delicate skin surrounding the now gaping sockets. The wriggling forms of maggots squirmed along the ragged tear of the throat, the clear cause of death. The body couldn't have been four feet tall. It was just a child. A male child.

Nami felt her gorge rise and forced it down. The bile burned her throat, but she felt she deserved the pain. The old memory rose up clear as day. When she'd returned the 'first' time, there had been a boy. Filled with impotent rage at his father's murder, he'd come with his little dagger to kill Arlong. She'd knocked him aside, scolding him, sending him running. She had saved his life, even if he hadn't realized it at the time.

"How much difference could two days make?"

Tears filled Nami's eyes, clouding her vision, but still she could see the corpse of the poor boy. It was tattooed on the backs of her eyelids, seared into her brain. How could she have been so arrogant? She'd been so certain everything would work out perfectly, because she knew how it was going to happen, she was from the future, she'd already lived it once. But that future was the sum of a million million circumstances aligning to make it so. One little detail left out would have resulted in a different outcome. How much could two days change? Everything, to a grief-mad child from Gosa.

She didn't even know his name.

How long she stood there frozen, she didn't know. But eventually she found her way back to herself. She dried her eyes, and felt something harden inside her. In a way, she was responsible for this. She'd procrastinated, not pushing the trip to her island, out of concern for Zoro. But the world didn't stop for her and her crew. Their lives weren't a fairy tale or epic or some damn manga. Happy endings weren't guaranteed. So she was damn well going to have to make her own.

Turning away from what was left of the boy, she opened the gates. She'd wasted enough time. There was a plan, and she had to play her part.

"Ah, Nami! How nice to see you! I was getting worried there. It's been so long," Arlong called out, that mocking grin of his glinting in the sun.

Nami felt a smile just as false cover her face. "Give me a break, Arlong. I predict the weather, I don't control it. I hit a bad patch and it slowed me down."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'd hate to have had to incentivize you over a bit of bad luck," Arlong drawled, a sadistic glint in his eye.

Nami resisted the urge to blast the bastard into West Blue courtesy of Lightning-chan. This was a test for her nakama, not a chance for her to relive her vengeance. "Whatever. I trust things were all quiet back here."

Arlong shrugged. "Nothing major. Some goody two-shoes Marines came to try and stop me. We took them down easy thanks to your sea charts, we moved a boulder and sunk them with a whirlpool." Arlong then grinned even wider. "Oh, and I had to pay a visit to your old home. Turns out that crazy old man Gen was planning a rebellion. He had a whole stockpile of dangerous weapons! Shahahahaha! Well, he won't be causing any more trouble now! I made sure of that."

Something in Nami's head went 'click'. Surely she hadn't heard that right? She must have misheard. Because if she hadn't, then she was going to do something ill-advised. Like run head-first into a sturdy wall. Or bite out Arlong's heart. Time enough to check on that later. Now was game time.

Arlong raised up his hands. "Yo, everyone! Nami's back!"

With a cheer, an aquarium of Fishmen burst out of the three pools of Arlong Park. A party was soon underway and Nami found herself smiling and chuckling and trading small talk with the creatures she was forced to call 'friend'. She still had this odd sense that something world-shattering had happened, but it couldn't have been that important if she couldn't remember it, right?

When she'd reached her quota of false enthusiasm, she turned to Arlong. "Oh, by the way, I have the 100 million."

Arlong froze. Slowly, he turned to face Nami, his face oddly slack. "… Really? You hadn't mentioned you were getting close."

"Why bother alerting you until I had the full amount? This trip was especially profitable. I've got it all stashed back at my old house. Won't you come with me to check it out? After all, our deal is to show you 100 million Beri, right? So come with me so I can show you." Nami's grin was wide, her tone carefully kept clean of sarcasm. No need to piss him off until all his reinforcements were taken care of.

Arlong forced a smile, though his eyes burned with rage. "Indeed it was. Well, let's not waste any time. Let's go see this 100 million Beri."

Chew spoke up. "Chew! Actually, I'll leave with you. It's been a while since the patrols reported and I want to make sure those lazy bums haven't fallen asleep."

The three walked out the gates, the tension a palpable weight. The moment the gates closed, the crew of renegade Fishmen broke out into concerned chatter.

"Nyu~! This is bad! If Nami-chan can show Arlong she has the money, then there's no way he can't let her go! And then his dream of conquering the East Blue with her maps will be ruined! What're we going to do, what're we going to do, WHAT'RE WE GOING TO DO?!" Hachi panicked, his six arms flailing.

"Calm down, you drama king crab!" Kuroobi snapped. "Arlong-sama will find some way to wiggle out of this. Then it's just a quick call to that greedy little captain and the problem's solved."

"Ah, that's right," Hachi noted, slapping three fists down on three palms.

"Still, it's kind of odd how it came out of nowhere like that. You'd think Nami-san would be bragging about finally being rid of us. Did she seem any different before she left on her last trip?" asked one of the grunts.

"Now that you mention it, she did seem to have an odd spring in her step. She had this huge smile on her face, not one of those fake ones when we have our parties," remarked another.

Kuroobi narrowed his eyes. "And she had a new weapon on her this time. Her staff was metal, not wood."

"Maybe her old one broke," offered an underling.

"And she replaced it with a more expensive one? That's not like her. And she did show up very late. The deadline's today, and she usually leaves herself a cushion of at least a day."

"She said she hit a bad patch," Hachi spoke up.

"There hasn't been any typhoons reported in the paper. Anything less she'd be able to see coming and avoid. Something doesn't smell right about this," growled the most paranoid of Arlong's officers.

"You're overthinking this, aren't you Kuroobi-san?" challenged an older crewmate with glasses and already pink in the cheeks.

At that precise moment, the entire outside wall of the Park went down in a cloud of dust and rubble.

"What the hell?!" shouted the shocked Fishmen.

The dust cleared to reveal a line of men in two distinct groups, one looking like an asylum had joined the circus, the other all looking like they could do with a few extra meals. Leading the pack was a clown with a giant red rubber nose twirling a number of knives through his hands and a guy holding up tonfa that seemed to have cannonballs on the ends.

"Knock-knock," rasped the tonfa man. "Special delivery to Arlong Park. One ass-kicking."

"What the hell are all you humans doing here?" growled Kuroobi.

The clown led loose a laugh that made nails dragged down a chalkboard seem like golden bells. "For the crimes of torturing the nakama of Buggy the Clown, I hereby sentence you all to a flashy execution!" He raised a hand and called over his shoulder. "FOR THE ARMADA! FOR THE CAPTAIN! FOR NAMI!"

"FOR NAMI!" roared the crowd of men.

And with no more preamble than that, Arlong Park was under attack.


Meanwhile…

Three Fishmen were hanging out on the dock near Gosa. Technically, they were on watch for any ships that could notice them and raise the alarm on Arlong's presence on the island, but once the economy of the island had dried up under the strain of Arlong's 'tributes', the ships had stopped coming on their own.

"Hey, shouldn't Nami be coming back today?" one of them thought aloud.

"Yeah, unless she's gotten bitter and she's staying away so Arlong-sama will kill off those villagers that curse her out."

The third one laughed. "It's all so tragic. She's doing all this to save them and they think she betrayed them. It's like one of those cheesy plays!"

"WAH~!"

The three looked up, their boring afternoon broken by some wimpy yell. They turned and saw the strangest human they'd ever seen. He had green hair in some girly hairstyle, gloves with what looked like claws on the ends, a thick fur coat and a pair of shorts that barely cleared his knee, showing off his unshaved legs. He was running straight at them, his eyes closed, his arms flailing, and doing some kind of waddling movement with his legs.

"WAH~! I'm going to beat you guys up!" he shouted, sounding like a little kid charging the bully twice his size.

The Anglerfish Fishman tilted his head, his antenna bobbing. "What the hell?"

"What's with this idiot?" whined the second.

"Looks weak, even for a human," the third scoffed.

At that moment, the man opened his eyes. And they were glinting with malevolent mischief. "Appearances can be deceiving," he purred. Then he suddenly tripled in speed, and by the time the Fishmen realized that he was in their personal space, he'd already jumped back.

"What the heck? He's fast. I better tell Arlong-sama!" The 'leader' reached into his pocket and clutched empty air. "What? Where's the Den Den Mushi?"

"Oh, so sorry. Are these yours?" the human asked with saccharine concern, holding up three sleeping baby snails in his hands.

"Give those back and I'll let you keep your teeth, human," growled one of the Fishmen.

The man tilted his head. "I think you're confused. It's the cat that eats the fish, not the other way around."

Six men suddenly burst out of the water, heaving themselves onto the deck. Before the Fishmen could even move, two of them had been tackled, stabbed, and subdued by three each of the strangers in cat costumes.

"Guys!" cried out the third, looking back in horror.

"You should be looking up!" came a yell from above.

The Fishman had a brief impression of a cow before consciousness left him with a very painful crunch.

Siam walked up to his brother to pat him on the back. "Nice Cat-a-Pult there, Buchi."

The tuxedo cat man grinned and held up a fist for his brother to bump. "You did good too. You were almost fast as Cap—I mean Kuro when you picked those guys' pockets."

"Oh, you're just saying that." The second greenhead of the Armada looked at the other two Fishmen, now getting tied up by the smug nakama that had ambushed them. "And congrats to you guys. You took these two down like it was nothing. Are these guys really naturally stronger than us?"

"It doesn't matter if you can lift mountains or jump over the moon. With the element of surprise, we are all equally vulnerable." The Black Cats turned to see their Captain coming over to them with his distinctive walk. "Excellent job Nyaban Brothers, Abraham, Giuseppe, Casey, O'Malley, Toulouse, and Berlioz." Jango nodded to each of his men in turn. "I'm sure all the other teams took down their weird targets as well as you guys did."

They all grinned. They all knew that managing to sneak attack and outnumber an enemy hardly proved they were all that strong. But the fact that the enemies were Grand Line veterans, albeit gone to seed, was an excellent confidence boost.

Jango cleared his throat. "Everyone should be done by now. I guess we should all head over to the Park to watch the Captain kick these weirdo's boss."

"That should be fun to watch!" The Black Cats had barely taken a step before their cheerful mood was soiled.

"CAPTAIN JANGO! HELP US! HELP—"

They all turned to see one of their nakama, dragging the bloody bodies of two of his fellows, collapse to the ground from what looked like a bullet wound. Behind him, walking at a leisurely pace, was a Fishman that was to lips as Usopp was to noses. There was no mistaking the hatred in his eyes.

"How curious," the stranger remarked in a lisping falsetto. "I come to see why all the scouts seem to have fallen asleep, and find them ganged up on by some deviant humans. You certainly don't see that every day."

Jango gave a weak smirk. Based on Nami's information, this was Chew, one of Arlong's officers. And he wasn't unsuspecting, he was ready for a fight. Part of him wanted to run for the hills, but that image was quickly supplanted by the image of his Captain smiling. Luffy had faith in him. Now it was time to earn that.

"What can I say? We were hungry for some tuna and found some walking around on two legs. We just had to try it."

Chew's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "I was already going to kill you for harming my brethren. But for that little wisecrack, I'm going to make it slow."

Jango started to twirl one of his chakram around his finger. "When he's distracted, grab the guys and make for the Park. Get them to Kaya-sama and Kadoo."

"But Captain, how're you going to beat this guy? He looks tough and you don't have the drop on him!" Siam bit his lip.

Jango turned and tilted his sunglasses, giving his nakama a droll look. "Please. Like I could lose to this weirdo."

"Insolent human!" spat Chew. Apparently he had good hearing. "Water Gun!" he shouted before spitting with such speed and pressure that it was as good as a bullet.

Jango dodged with style, moving his head out of the way by going into his disco pose, his finger pointing behind him as he looked at the ground. He looked up into the outraged face of Chew. "Denied. Sorry, but cats hate getting wet."

While Chew was busy being offended, Jango reached into his coat for one of his chakram and flung it at Chew. The marksman dodged lest his lips get separated from his body. Jango didn't let up, sending a constant stream of bladed disks at Chew while the others grabbed Chew's victims and booked for Arlong Park.

"Enough of this!" Chew pulled off one last dodge and dived into the ocean.

Jango immediately ran off into the trees. "Like hell I'm just going to stand there in view of the water. Let the prey come to you." He patted his pockets and sweatdropped. "Just as well that he did that, I guess. I got so caught up I forgot to keep count. I'm out." He looked down to his last remaining chakram, the one he used for hypnosis hanging on a string. "Don't let me down, buddy."

After a few minutes, Chew hopped out of the ocean. He was comically distended from all the water he'd swallowed, but it was no laughing matter. "Where'd that puny human go?" he muttered, scanning the environment. He paused when he spotted a flash of color. He spent a minute staring at the purple sticking out from behind a tree. "He can't possibly think he's camouflaged in that."

Rolling his eyes, Chew readied his diaphragm and let loose. "Hundred Shot Water Gun!" he roared before making like a turret.

The foliage was torn to shreds by the water. When it finally died down, it looked like a team of termites on drugs had torn through the thick patch of trees.

Chew huffed. "Chew! That takes care of that."

"I LIVE!" shouted Jango, rising from a mound of leaves like a vampire from a coffin, his arms held out before him. When he was vertical, he tore off the shreds of his coat and blew the ruin of his hat off his head with an upward exhale. Other than the damage to his wardrobe, he seemed to have escaped the assault with little more than grazes. "Hmm, looks like I need new clothes. They were tacky anyway."

Chew snarled. "Do you mock me? What are you even doing here? You some kind of mercenary the islanders hired?"

Jango chuckled. "Nope. Nothing like that. Captain Jango of the Black Cat Pirates. Nice to meet you."

Chew narrowed his eyes. "What're you doing here then? Thought if you beat Arlong-sama you'd get a reputation boost?"

"Not at all. Let's just say you Fishman weirdoes hurt the friend of a friend. We came along to help him pay you guys back."

Chew threw his head back and laughed. "You threw your lives away for that? How stupid are you?"

Jango froze. If there was one thing you should never call him, it was 'stupid'. Kuro had called him stupid on a daily basis, when Jango knew for a fact he was above-average intelligence at least. Hypnosis wasn't as simple as waving something back and forth. It required an intense knowledge of psychology and the human body, so he knew what limits he could push, and a certain focus and mental presence that came with intense practice to slip past people's mental defenses. His art was a demanding one, not something any idiot could do, and he was a master. He was not stupid.

"Call me stupid… one more time," Jango growled, his voice sub-zero.

Chew sneered. "Stu~pid! Stupid, stupid, stupid! When the stupid people of the world gather, you're their king! What you going to do about it, human?"

Tigers with empty bellies grinned at helpless deer the way Jango grinned at Chew. He brought up his ring and set it swinging. "When I say 'One, Two, Jango', you won't be able to see or hear me."

"You resorting to party tricks? How pathetic can you get?" Chew growled.

"One, Two, Jango!" the hypnotist intoned.

Chew blinked and the man vanished.

"Huh? Where'd he go?"

Chew carefully scanned the environment, but he couldn't find hide nor hair of the weird human.

"Hmm. Must have run off while I was distracted. Pathetic weakling. But what more could you expect from a –"

Chew's back bowed and his eyes went white as a searing white pain flashed through his spine. As he collapsed to the ground, his back gushing blood, Jango flicked the liquid off his ring.

"That's what you get for calling me stupid. You weirdo."


"Remember, Pearl-san. Everyone bleeds. It's not the end of the world to get injured, as long as you keep fighting. Some girls actually love scars. You shouldn't be so scared of bodily harm," Kaya soothed, dabbing the minor cut on the shield fighter's arm. The man had managed to take down a half a dozen Fishmen before he'd been benched for fear he'd go pyromaniac.

"R-right. And fire would hurt my nakama. I'll try to remember that," the man whispered, looking haunted.

Usopp rolled his eyes as he 'discouraged' yet another Fishman from attacking the first-aid area. "This guy's got a serious problem. What the hell happened to him?"

"Krieg found him in a jungle. Apparently he'd been abandoned as a kid. He'd developed this reflex of starting a fire when he got hurt to scare away animals. He was strong as a gorilla, so Krieg slapped some shields on him and made him the Second Mate," explained a Don pirate as Kadoo finished splinting his leg.

The fight was going pretty well, all told. Buggy and Don Pirates each teamed up to take down individual Fishmen, like a pack of wolves downing a bear. Though even glancing blows from the other species was enough to get a man sent to Kaya and Kadoo, the crews were able to dodge and distract without getting too much in each other's way.

The officers and captains, on the other hand, were doing perfectly fine fighting solo.

"Look, Richie! Dinner!" Mohji shouted, using his whip to trip the Fishmen that ran screaming from the slobbering lion pouncing after them.

"Feel the wrath of my Acrobatic Swordplay!" Cabaji yelled as he dashed through the crowd on his unicycle, using all Zoro had taught him to slash down the Arlong Pirates.

"Bara Bara Rice Cracker!" Buggy shouted, sending his lower half spinning at Hachi.

The Octopus Fishman slashed with all six of his swords, practically julienning Buggy's legs. But the blade sticking out of his shoe and the sharpened tip of his peg leg still found their way into his flesh. "Nyu~! That's cheating, you bastard! My Six Sword Style doesn't work on you!"

Buggy laughed. "Hello? Pirate! There's no such thing as cheating for someone like me."

Hachi frowned. "Well, if that's the way you feel." Taking a deep breath, the swordsman shouted "Tako Hachi Black!" as he let loose with the ink his species was known for.

"Whoa!" Buggy yelled as he split vertically to avoid the jet of coal-black liquid. As he came back together, a look of disgust flashed across his face. "Did… did you seriously just puke at me as an attack?"

Hachi grinned. "That's the wonder of my Fishman heritage. Just look at all my lovely arms. Aren't I marvelous?" he asked as he went into something that vividly reminded Buggy of Sanji when a woman called his name.

"If you're going to sink that low to try and win, then no more Mr. Nice Guy! Bara Bara Festival!" Buggy's body suddenly burst apart into dozens of different pieces. As he did, all the knives hidden on his person seemed to appear out of nowhere as the motion knocked them loose from their hiding places. Then, before Hachi's disbelieving eyes, the knives seemed to fly through the air to attach to Buggy's floating parts.

"And now my ultimate attack! Bara Bara Chainsaw!" With that, every piece of Buggy started to spin so fast it blurred. With the knives riding shotgun, the effect was of a whirlwind of slicing death. Hachi's swords were knocked aside as he raised them in defense, the sheer force of the rotation overcoming his natural strength.

"Nyu~!" the kindest Arlong Pirate yelped as his world became glinting metal and sharp, sweet pain. When Buggy finally had mercy, it looked like someone had stuck Hachi in a blender. He slowly collapsed forward, eyes blank.

Buggy reassembled and started the laborious process of unsticking the knives and putting them back in their slings. As he jerked one off his flesh, he took a moment to trace the skin the metal had been attracted to. "Magnets. Huh. I don't know who's crazier: Usopp for coming up with the idea or me for letting him stick them in."

The clown turned to see Gin avoid another palm strike from his own opponent. Despite the sheer weight of his weapons, Gin's style was actually quite agile. He'd worked out over time exactly how to use the cannonball tonfa and their momentum as counterweights to allow him to pull off some truly impressive gymnastics. He needed every bit of it to dodge the strikes of Kuroobi.

The Ray Fishman tried to hide his panting, clinging to bravado. "You have no hope of besting me, puny human. I'm a Level 40 Fishman Karate Master. One blow from me would be enough to kill you."

Gin huffed. "I heard you the twelfth time. And you still haven't managed to actually land a blow, have you?"

Kuroobi scowled. "Insolence. Do you not realize that your rebellion goes against the will of Heaven? Fishmen are simply superior to humans. This whole fight is an exercise in futility."

"I'll agree with you on that one. If this is the best you got, there's no way you can beat me." Gin grinned. "And I have it on good authority that I'm more devil than man, so you might want to rethink your whole eugenic spiel."

Kuroobi's eye twitched. He slipped into a stance. "I'll show you the hopelessness of your struggle! My 1000 Tile True Punch is the true essence of Fishman Karate, and capable of ending you with barely a touch!"

Instead of a cowering human, he got a cannonball to his jaw. Kuroobi's last thought was that the stars had come out early as he fell back on the ground, his teeth landing beside him.

Gin rolled his eyes. "Can't believe he left me an opening like that. How long has it been since these guys were in an actual fight?"

Looking around, it was clear the fight was over. Every Fishman was down on the ground, dead to the world, while the Armada, while sporting some pretty big boo-boos, were all still alive and kicking.

"Um… what do we do now?" asked Shemp.

Usopp cleared his throat. "We all get the hell out of ground zero and find good spots for the show, gentleman! Arlong's going to be spitting mad when he sees what we've done to his chumps, and Luffy's going to teach him not to mess with his nakama. Now, we need to volunteers to carry the wounded! Remember who your buddy is! Try to limp in a single-file line!"


Nami felt like she was walking through a ghost town as she led Arlong through Cocoyashi. A visit from a Fishman was enough to make people keep their head down, but this total absence was unusual. The odd weight in her mind gave a little twitch, waiting for her to acknowledge, and again she ignored it.

Before she knew it, there were at Bellemere's grove. She led her childhood nightmare to the secret compartment and lifted it up, revealing the first 100 million she'd gathered within six months of waking up in the past. She kept her eye on Arlong. She'd imagined this moment so many times, back when she was naïve enough to believe Arlong would stay true to the spirit of his vow as well as the letter.

Arlong's eyes quickly surveyed the pile of cash, jewels, and gold. He'd never imagined she'd actually be able to be pull it off. Figured she'd be as good a thief as she was a cartographer. "I'm impressed, Nami. This all is certainly worth a great deal of money."

Nami raised a brow. "But?"

Arlong grinned. Good, she wasn't overreacting. He'd hate to make this difficult. "I asked for 100 million Beri. As in cash. I've no doubt all this collateral will fetch a pretty penny, but I'm afraid you haven't quite met the conditions of our agreement."

Nami grinned genially. She hadn't expected anything less, but she still felt a surge of anger at how determined the bastard was to own her. "I see. Well, I'll see to that on my next trip. I'm sure I'll get all I need."

"You do that. In the meantime, there's some fresh charts waiting in your room." With that, Arlong turned to head back to the Park. He didn't even wait until he was out of sight before he pulled out the Den Den Mushi.

As Nami lowered the lid, she saw Nojiko come out of the house towards her. Turning to face her sister, Nami felt a real grin split her lips. "Hey. There's some minor details to work out, but we'll be free by sunset!" It wasn't even a lie.

"That's great," Nojiko said, her lips twitching, but otherwise not reacting. Nami noticed her sister was oddly subdued.

"Nojiko? What's wrong?"

Her sister in all but blood looked into her eyes. Nami noticed they were bloodshot with bags under them. "Did he tell you about Gen-san?" the bluehead asked.

The words were like a key to the lock holding Nami's pain back. She staggered as the horrible realization that Gen-san, the neighbor that had scolded her for stealing, who had endured such terrible injuries trying to protect her, who had been the only man to make Bellemere smile, was gone. He was gone, and he wasn't supposed to be! He was supposed to hug her and have some guy talk with Luffy and yell after her when she stole his wallet during her big exit.

But they'd been two days late. Usopp hadn't been there to distract Arlong. Gen had managed to convince the villagers not to rebel, sacrificing himself for their war of patience. Arlong had snapped his neck for owning an antique pistol that was more likely to take your hand than hit the target if fired. Arlong had taken her father from her too.

In her old life, when she'd felt like her life was falling apart around her, she'd broken down in tears.

But she wasn't that pathetic little girl anymore.

Nami steadied herself. "Where is he?"

Nojiko's eyes widened. There was murder in her little sister's eyes. "We buried him next to Bellemere. It's what she would have wanted."

With a nod, Nami turned and made her way to the bluff. The ground swiftly vanished under her feet, hate lending her an energy she'd never known. In what felt like seconds, she was standing before the familiar, weatherworn cross. The larger one next to it was new, and the earth was fresh in a square where they'd dug. A pinwheel was planted in the ground between the two graves, turning in the wind.

Nami bowed her head and thought of the good times. She'd been a rebellious child, but she'd had people tough yet gentle enough to correct her without smothering her. She remembered Bellemere admiring her first map and Gen telling her Bellemere's story over a cup of hot chocolate. They were both gone, but she'd always have the memories.

And they'd both been taken by the same person. The same one that had caused her so much pain, robbed her of her childhood, stolen the hope of her people.

Feeling her fury coalesce into a single word, Nami threw back her head and cried it to the sky.

"ARLONG!"

The next instant, two men appeared on the slope.

"Nami-swan, what's wrong?! Did someone hurt you? Where is he? I'll make a custard from his bones!" Sanji ranted, hovering near his beloved Nami, but hanging back on seeing the practically visible waves of anger flowing off her.

"Nami?" Luffy asked, his voice calm, his eyes concerned.

Nami turned, and both men almost gasped. They recognized the fire in her eyes. They'd seen it in each other. It was the light of one about to go to war.

"Sanji-kun," she stated. "Arlong called Nezumi. When he shows up, express my displeasure at his idiocy in trying to steal my treasure."

Sanji merely nodded. "As you wish," he answered.

Her gaze turned to Luffy. "Change of plans, Captain. I'm going to take down Arlong. Got a problem with that?"

Luffy adjusted Hat. "Nope."

That done, Nami turned and began striding with violent purpose. As she passed Nojiko, who'd followed after her, the older girl raised a brow.

"Where'd those two come from?"


Arlong gaped, unable to believe what he was seeing. His brethren, those that understood their rightful place as he did, were strewn like dummies across his beloved Park. This was impossible. No one could have done this. Well, no one outside the Grand Line. But someone had.

As Arlong gazed at his beaten comrades, feeling his horror fuel his rage, someone spoke to him.

"Arlong."

The rogue Captain turned to see Nami, her staff assembled and resting on her shoulder.

"Nami. I have no idea how this could have happened. It doesn't make any sense. But when I find those responsible, I swear—"

"It was my crew."

Arlong paused. He slowly turned, and realized that Nami was looking at him like she was sizing up an opponent. The hilarity of the situation was lost in his anger.

"Your crew?"

Nami's lips curved into a smile hard as steel. "I met the man who will become the Pirate King. He's a bit of an idiot, but he has a heart as big as his dream. And he has the strength and will to make it reality. He showed me things I never would have believed possible. I watched as he freed a country from a drought, felled a god, defied the world to save a friend, and vanquished a demon of blackest shadow. He bows his head to no man, whether King or Noble or Emperor. And along the way, he inspired me to find the same strength within myself."

"Spare me the poetry," Arlong hissed. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

"I distracted you so that his crew could beat yours. And now I'm here to kill you."

Arlong couldn't contain his laughter. "Shahahahaha! Kill me? How many times have you tried in the past? Assassins, poison, none of it worked!"

"That was before I had this," she said, twirling her staff and taking a two-handed grip.

"You think an iron staff will be that much better than a wooden one? Stop this nonsense now and I'll let some of your villagers live," Arlong growled.

Nami narrowed her eyes. "Gust Sword."

Next thing Arlong knew, he was flying through the air at incredible speeds. Before he could figure out how that happened, his flight was brought to a sharp stop by his back hitting the wall on the other side of Arlong Park.

Shaking his head of the cobwebs, Arlong looked up, determined to put Nami in her place. But she wasn't there. He looked left and right, but Nami had vanished.

"For today's forecast," came Nami's voice, oddly disembodied and echoing. "The temperature is a brisk 54°F with scattered clouds. Humidity is low and conditions are stable. Except for one area by the coast that is experiencing some freak weather phenomena. Beware of sudden shifts in temperature, gale-force winds, and lightning strikes."

"Show yourself, witch! You're mine! I'm the only one that can use you properly! Stop resisting and accept your place as my navigator!" Arlong's eyes were close to changing.

"I'm the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates." Arlong's eyes widened as the whisper tickled past his ear.

Before he could turn, he was sent flying forward again. He caught himself, turning to confront Nami. But she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere.

"Where are you? How are you hiding?" he roared, getting frustrated.

"Changes in air temperature refract light waves, resulting in a mirage."

Before Arlong could puzzle that out, he felt another gust hit him. To his intense surprise, it blew him into the center pool of Arlong Park.

"Ha, you fool, Nami! You know as well as anyone that Fishmen double in strength in the water. Now it will be simple to subdue—" Arlong's monologue was cut off as his eyes crossed, his muscles seized, and he felt the metallic tingle of electricity pulse over his skin.

Nami, her Mirage Tempo cancelled, looked dispassionately at the twitching shadow of Arlong in the water. "Thunder Egg," she muttered as she let loose another electric orb. Again the charge dissipated throughout the water. Again she watched him twitch. But it wasn't very satisfying. As angry as she was, she wasn't a sadist. So she might as well make this quick.

"Weather Egg!" she cried, letting loose one of her precious orbs. "Tornado Breed Tempo!" she commanded. The shell cracked and a twisting whirlwind of opaque wind broke loose, quickly funneling down into the water. In seconds the tornado had become a waterspout, the form of Arlong visible as a shadow caught in the endless rotations. "Cool Egg!" she commanded, taking the proper segment and releasing wave after wave of super-cool spheres into the vortex. Before the eyes of her hidden spectators, the mass of wind and water hardened and coalesced until an iceberg floated inside Arlong Park. Arlong could be seen in the heart, body frozen in some twisted position by the forces that had acted on him as he'd frozen.

Nami took a deep breath. "Consider this my resignation. Black Ball!" From the end of her Clima-Tact came a string of bubbles containing a cloud black as coal. From peaceful skies appeared a monstrous thunder cloud, the kind seen only once or twice a century, the kind whose strikes were called 'the hand of God'.

And at Nami's command, it unleashed its fury.

The thunderclap of the single strike that defeated Saw-Tooth Arlong was heard on the nearest island. Anyone unlucky enough to be looking directly at the bolt had to blink dots from their vision for hours. Meteorologists of East Blue eventually named it the strangest phenomenon to be recorded outside the Grand Line.

Nami took her fill of the sight of Arlong, smoke leaking out his mouth, floating belly-up in the water surrounded by chunks of ice. She collapsed her Clima-Tact and turned away. She had avenged her mother and father. She was content.

The Armada slowly emerged from the trees, most of them with their jaws around their ankles and their eyes rolling in the grass behind them.

"Well, it wasn't Luffy, but we still got a hell of a performance. Brava!" Usopp called.

"Larry, Shemp?" Moe muttered.

"Yeah, buddy?" they asked.

"One day, when I'm desperate for money and think of borrowing from Nami-sama, remind me of this moment, when I gave you permission to punch me in the balls if I ever take a single Beri of her money."

"Agreed."

"Aw, great. Now I'm deaf in my good ear. Everyone's going to have to sign at me for a week," Kadoo loudly complained as she put a bandage on one of the Black Cats that had joined them as they waited for Arlong's return.

Kaya cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, let this be a reminder to you all! Hell truly hath no fury like a woman scorned."

For the sake of everyone's sanity, the tension was released by (one of) the resident buffoon(s).

"AH! NAMI-SWAN! YOU ARE THE GODDESS OF THE WINDS AND SEA! PLEASE ALLOW THIS LOWLY MORTAL THE DIVINE PRIVILEGE OF RUBBING THE TENSION FROM YOUR SUPPLE AND SMOOTH MUSCLES!"

Everyone in hearing range rolled their eyes. Nami sighed before bringing up a hand to massage a crick in her neck. "I'm so strung out, I might actually let you do that. For 50,000 a minute."

Sanji looked like he could die happy at that moment as he oozed over to Nami to start fussing at the tiny injuries she'd gotten from flying debris. A pained moan made people look to down to see the bloody form of some Marine wearing a hat that looked like a mouse lying on the ground like a wet noodle.

"Well, I'd say this was a good day," spoke up Luffy, appearing from nowhere like Sanji. "No one died, everyone won their fights, and once we spread the news of Arbong's ass-kicked-ness, we're in for free food on top of what Mustache man is making us."

"So are we ready for the Grand Line, Captain Luffy?" asked a Don pirate, eyes filled with nervous excitement.

Luffy turned and grinned at his nakama. "Hell yeah, Vermouth! And that goes for all of you!"

The weary Armada raised a cheer.

Luffy turned to the limp form of the Marine Sanji'd dragged there. "Oi," he muttered, slapping the man's cheek.

The rat bastard stirred. "I'll get you for this! I am a Marine Captain! Touching me is a severe punishment."

"Tell it to someone who cares," Luffy muttered. "Listen to me, you little weasel. I need you to deliver a message for me."

"A message?"

"Yes. In the newspaper article that goes with my bounty, I want you to print a certain message."

"What makes you think you'll get a bounty?"

Luffy raised a brow. "I got Buggy the Clown and Jango the Hypnotist to swear allegiance to me and join my armada, and got Devil-Man Gin to do the same after I beat Don Krieg with one blow. And my navigator just kicked Saw-Tooth Arlong into next week."

"That just proves you're some smooth-talker, the thing with Krieg is apocryphal, and if anything that witch would get the bounty, not you. I've not seen or heard anything about you to makes you worth the Marine HQ's notice," Nezumi sneered, somehow looking down on someone standing over him.

Luffy tilted his head. One second later, he was in the air above Arlong Park. Nezumi watched wide-eyed as his foot swelled to truly gigantic proportions and came down on the tower. "Gomu Gomu no Giant Axe!" The entire five-story edifice vanished beneath the flesh of that giant foot attached to that small guy. As the foot swiftly returned to its normal size, Nezumi saw that where Arlong Park had been, there was now just a sheet of oddly-colored dust and a crater that matched the exact contours of a foot.

Luffy reappeared in a blur beside Nezumi. "You were saying?"

"Nothing important," the corrupt Captain squeaked.

"Now, again. When the poster for Straw Hat Luffy comes out, I want these exact words to be in the article."

"I'm listening." Nezumi glanced again at the crater where a minute ago there'd been a tower. "Intently."

Luffy grinned enigmatically. "To the Monster Doctor, Demon Flower, Pervert Cyborg, and Humming Skeleton: we're coming for you."


In the interest of sticking to the schedule, the Armada only stayed overnight instead of sticking around for a three-day party. The men had plenty of fun anyway. The entire island turned out to celebrate once the news of Arlong's fall spread. Those from Cocoyashi had a solemn moment of silence for Gen, Bellemere, and all those that hadn't lived to see this day, before shaking off the ghosts of the past and joining in the merrymaking.

Nami had disappeared after having her tattoo altered by Dr. Nako. The core crew remembered this from last time and let her have her time to say goodbye, while the rest hardly noticed her absence in the chaos of the massive party.

Between the Baratie's preplanned feast and the seemingly infinite string of potluck dishes, Luffy got to eat his fill for the first time in what felt like forever. Usopp dazzled islanders and the crew alike with 'stories' of the Grand Line, with Kaya an eager actress, and Gaimon and the animals colorful extras. Sanji got his fill of flirting, though he seemed more subdued than usual. Buggy, Jango, and Gin all got into a drinking contest and then vanished for a few hours. When they reappeared, they were blushing, and had the look of those that had sworn a vow to never speak of something ever again.

The next day, the ships were ready to go, already stocked, even if their crews were half-dead from the hangovers and day-after aches. The islanders that were awake had gathered to see them off, and to say goodbye to Nami.

"Think she'll do the same thing as last time?" Usopp asked as he lifted a crate of gunpowder from where some idiot had placed it.

"Naw. She'll never admit it, but we've rubbed off on her. She'll go for something more… dramatic," Luffy mused.

"What was that about rubbing off on Nami-swan?" Sanji asked dangerously.

"Dirty-minded candy cane fairy," hissed Zoro through the open porthole.

"Don't make me kick your ass, Chia Pet!"

Kaya squinted, before opening her eyes wide. "Oh, my! I'm going to have to get used to this kind of thing or my nerves are going to be shot by Arabasta."

Confused, everyone turned to see what she meant. The East Blue crews gaped in awe, while the Straw Hats could only chuckle and shake their heads.

Nami had appeared over the clearing, standing on a puffy white cloud. Her Clima-Tact was assembled and held like a scepter, her hair flowing in the wind. As the islanders gaped below her, something began to fall from the cloud. Those beneath her gaped as they realized that coins, bills, and bits of jewelry were leaking out of the cloud. Nami looked forward, serene and unconcerned, as the wealth of the Conomi Islands was returned to its citizens. Her own cut was stashed on her person.

"Talk about 'making it rain'," muttered Carne.

"I don't know whether to cry or scream at this sight," Buggy said hollowly. "It's so beautiful… but she's just giving it away…"

"That reminds me. If we come across a Sky Island, I need to tag along. It's been so long since I worked with those kind of ingredients," mused Zeff.

Nami hopped off her cloud to land on the deck of the Going Merry. She turned to wave at the jubilant masses she left behind. "So long! When Marines come to interview about me, only say nice things! Good luck!"

Nojiko could only shake her head as she watched her little sister sail off with a veritable horde of pirates. "Who'd have thought it, eh, Bellemere-san, Gen-san?"


I wrote the last two-thirds of this story in one marathon burst after Thanksgiving dinner. I guess gravy helps me think. Who knew. I ask that all pity/support over the incidents mentioned in the opening notes be kept to a minimum. If you review, do it because you had something to say about the story.

Also, this will probably come back to haunt me, but I commit to reach 100k by the New Year. With your praise and encouragement (plus necessary ego-deflating), I'm sure I'll manage it. Happy Thanksgiving! (yes, Canadian readers, I'm aware REAL Thanksgiving was last month, but I must humor my country of birth)

FAVORITE! FOLLOW! REVIEW!