Chapter 36

The Fall

Kim's limp form was moved away from the battlefield quickly, Johnny and Yosaku having darted forward to drag her and her fallen naginata away while Arlong was distracted. Cocoyashi village's doctor dropped down beside the girl, checking her vital signs and then pulling her off to the side in order to treat her wounds.

Her hand was beginning to swell, two of her ribs were cracked, and an ugly, purplish bruise was already beginning to form on her neck in the shape of a hand (one with fins). Altogether, there wasn't much damage, but what little there was, it was enough.

Back inside the crumbling Park, things were beginning to escalate quickly.

Genzo and Nojiko had finally revived Luffy, leaving Zoro to fight off Arlong while Sanji went into the water to free Luffy's legs from the piece of cement he'd stuck them in earlier on. Even Usopp lent his services, distracting the octopus Fishman (Hachi) – even though his attack was really meant for Arlong. The shock wore off quickly enough though, and soon Hachi was diving in after Sanji, intent on stopping him. It wouldn't matter though, because, despite his reopened wounds, Zoro had managed to deal several devastating blows to Hachi, causing the Fishman's wounds to reopen the moment he attempted to attack Sanji. Then, Luffy was shooting out of the sky, switching places with Zoro and flinging the older man out of Arlong's reach. A great cheer rose from the villagers and Luffy dove right into battle, attacking Arlong head-on.

Eventually, Arlong got a little primitive, snapping at Luffy like a shark would (the kind with fins instead of legs). Then, after a bit more fighting between them, Luffy's infamous speech came.

"How am I supposed to know how to use a sword, you idiot?!" he yelled suddenly, casting aside the swords he'd been swinging wildly at Arlong. "I don't know anything about navigation or keeping records of adventures! I can't cook either! I can't even lie! But, I can defeat you! I need my friends to help me survive! This is why I have to back them up! And that means kicking your ass!"

The touching words only seemed to enrage Arlong even further, prompting him to demonstrate the power of a shark Fishman: regrowing his teeth. He snapped at Luffy rapidly, the rubberman just barely managing to dodge the attacks and even using one of Arlong's crew to block a bite.

Arlong roared in anger.

The fight picked up again, Luffy snatching a set of Arlong's and putting it in his own mouth. The rubberman looked absolutely ridiculous, pissing Arlong and just about everyone else off.

"Remind me… to never kiss him." Kim wheezed, swimming in and out of consciousness, eyes cracked open just enough to see the fight between Fishman and Devil Fruit user.

Nevertheless, Luffy managed to do a bit of damage to Arlong, biting down on his shoulder where the burn marks were fiercest. The Fishman grunted in pain, swatting Luffy away and yanking the teeth out of his body. His shoulder throbbed. He attacked Luffy, Arlong doing the biting this time, teeth clamped firmly on Luffy's rubbery arm. A spray of blood spattered across Arlong's face. Luffy, however, wasn't having it and flipped the Fishman over his body, slamming him into the ground and creating a great crater in the pavement. He pried Arlong's jaw open and pulled out his arm, cradling the bloody appendage to his chest. By the time, he managed to catch his breath, Arlong had disappeared from sight.

"Luffy!" Usopp bellowed suddenly. "The water!"

A shark's fin rose from the water before disappearing back down.

Arlong shot out of the water, using his nose to slice up Luffy's torso. The rubberman fell back in a spray of blood and hit his head on a piece of rubble, a deep gash opening on his head. He curled in on himself, panting out his pain. Arlong, having landed on the roof, chuckled evilly and dove at Luffy again, cracking the pavement when Luffy managed to roll out of the way. Arlong attacked again and again, Luffy just barely managing to dodge each time. The Fishman disappeared into the water once more.

"Luffy!" Usopp and the bounty hunter pair shouted. "Run and hide."

"No."

"Don't be stupid!" Sanji yelled. "He's aiming right for you! Hide, you idiot!"

"I SAID NO!" Luffy shouted, staring intently at the water. "I'll catch him this time… and break that nose." He huffed out a deep breath and held his hands out in front of him, stretching the fingers on one hand. "Gomu Gomu no Shield!"

Arlong shot out of the water, only to be caught by Luffy and his new attack. Luffy grinned, flinging Arlong back and the Fishman repeated his attack, this time being caught by Luffy and slammed into the pavement with one of Luffy's attacks, the rubberman driving his feet into Arlong's abdomen with his "Gomu Gomu no Spear" attack.

Arlong's eyes took on a mad gleam and he snatched Luffy out of the air, slinging him into the building. He swung a fist in Luffy's direction, the rubberman dodging with ease, only to pull out a sword from where his fist broke through the wall. Sharp, evil looking saw-blade teeth made up the blade.

"It's Kiribachi!" Nami screamed, flinching back.

Arlong chased Luffy up the building, driving the rubberman to escape inside. Inside Nami's cartography room to be exact.

The crowd of villagers watched with bated breath, waiting for a sign of what was happening.

"Damn it! What's happening to Luffy-aniki?!" Yosaku moaned, gripping his head guard tightly.

One of the windows shattered and a desk was flung from the broken pane.

Johnny and Yosaku sagged in relief. "Phew, for a second there, I thought it was Luffy-aniki!"

That sparked Johnny and Yosaku into bickering with each other, Johnny questioning Yosaku's faith in Luffy and Yosaku taking a jab at Johnny's questionable courage. The two barely even noticed when a bookshelf was tossed from the building.

"What's with all those things being thrown outta there?" Usopp asked, gazing up at the building from where he sat beside the doctor. Kim's head was cradled in his lap, the brunette, struggling to stay awake.

Another window shattered and then, silence.

BAM!

A foot shot out of the very center of the roof, followed by an incredibly long leg that could only belong to Luffy. Then, very suddenly, it snapped back down and a great crack ran down the center of the building. An almost deafening rumble came from the building before it came crashing down. There were many screams from the villagers and then Usopp was on his feet, dragging Kim away from the Park.

"Arlong Park… was destroyed." Nami whispered, eyes wide.

"Luffy," Usopp murmured and Kim struggled to her feet beside him.

A figure rose from the rubble, beaten and battered and covered in blood.

"NAMI!" Luffy bellowed. "YOU. ARE. MY NAKAMA!"

The young navigator burst into tears, grinning through her sobs.

All around them, the villagers were celebrating, cheering and jumping with excitement as they all rushed to hug one another. Kim giggled weakly and threw her arms around Usopp, wincing when the sniper hugged her back a bit too tightly.

"That's enough celebrating!" a nasally voice shouted and the villagers and the pirates quieted in their celebrations, all turning to look at the approaching Marines. The leader looked like a rat, Kim thought.

He acted like one too, bragging about how the pirates gave a good show in defeating Arlong and the Fishman pirates, but that he was going to take credit for everything – as well as all the money stored at the Park.

Zoro growled to himself and stalked up behind him, snatching the mousy Marine up by his collar and scaring him half to death. "It's not nice to ruin a party." He said darkly, an evil smirk on his lips.

After that, it didn't take long for the able-bodied StrawHats (meaning, everyone but Kim) and the villagers to beat the Marines to a bloody pulp, Nami taking great pleasure in smacking around the leader of the group. She plopped Luffy's StrawHat back on his head and pulled her bo-staff out, threatening the Marines into giving back all the money they took, into leaving the money at the Park alone, and into rebuilding Gosa Village, the place where Kim and Johnny had landed.

Before he left, the Marine Captain began shrieking at Luffy that he'd get back at him for this.

Of course, it went right over Luffy's head, leaving the rubberman wondering how the Captain knew he was going to be the Pirate King.

It didn't take long for the villagers to disperse after that, everyone rushing around the island to spread the good news.

Arlong Park had finally fallen.

The StrawHats, on the other hand, were herded back to Cocoyashi Village, which was empty at the moment, in order for their wounds to be treated.

Luffy, Sanji and Usopp were treated first, only needing some bandages and ointments. A thick swath of gauze was wrapped around Luffy's head and he watched with interest as the Doctor redid Zoro's stitches, scolding the swordsman for overexerting himself. Zoro was too busy screaming to make an intelligent reply. Kim was fine for the most part, having already been taken care of, and she fell into a bed immediately upon reaching the Doctor's Office. Within minutes, her breathing evened out and she rested peacefully.

A/N: Now all that's left is the three days of partying! We're almost finished guys!

Poll update! Luffy is in the lead, followed by Zoro. Then, the order of those behind them are: Ace, Sanji, Akane, Usopp, ZoSanZo, Zoro/Kim/Luffy and Other in last place.

SBS!

Thanks for Favoriting and Alerting: witch of blood and xXmarciXx.

gamelover41592: Thank you!

theliesmith (Guest): Here you are!

Skysword: Thank you! She won't get her bounty with Luffy (at least, I don't plan for her to at the moment) but maybe with Zoro. If not then, she'll get it with the rest of the crew.

Nitishu: XD I know all about watching too much Naruto. My dad got into it about a year ago and made me sit down with him and explain everything. It was exhausting and I dreamt of ninja for months... Yes, they're very fun to write! I like them very much:)

10th Squad 3rd Seat: Kim blushed and grinned. "You're pretty awesome yourself!"

Molly Grace 16: Thanks! I'm just going to end this part of the story and start a new one. Like a series of books. I don't want to run up like a billion chapters.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Nami and Kim's sisterhood is very fun to write. Now that everything's good between them, you can count on some sisterly arguements in the future. The explosion was Kim's power reacting to keep her alive.

I'll be continuing past Reverse Mountain! Just in a different Gateways story! This was always mean to be a series of "books". Don't cry!

UNICORNSPOORRAINBOWS: Glad you get it!

.bookworm: How about you vote for both? Thank you!

Wrecker Radioactive: Thank you!

OrionRedde: Family times!

CatalinaVonFeuer: I'm glad you think so! I tried hard with that moment. As for what happens for the timeskip... I honestly don't know what I'll do at this point. It depends on what kind of person becomes later on. And that is the absolute best mental image ever! She'd just walk in like a runway model and blow everyone away. I'm glad you might start writing soon! I'll be sure to check out anything you post! Thanks for reviewing!