A small one shot for christmas was posted. Its called Mistletoe and features the straw hats plus Tani!
Zoro vs. Hatchan the Octopus! Sanji and Usopp's Fierce Battles!
For just a brief moment, it seemed like time had frozen in the park. Nobody spoke, nobody breathed, nobody moved at all. Not the fishman who were left standing inside or the group of people waiting outside with pitchforks and shovels.
Then Luffy started shouting.
"Alright, that's it Arlong. I'm done playing games with you. I didn't come here to beat down all your cronies, I came here to teach you a lesson!"
Luffy twisted his entire torso around to point at the man he was addressing. "So step up!"
The shark smirked at the man stuck in the concrete. Foolish human. He would be easy to crush.
"Oh I will, don't worry. Actually I was just thinking about how painfully I'll end your life." He ended his reply with a snarl. Before Arlong could move from his spot, three others got to the boy first.
Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp surrounded their captain in the concrete, all of them pissed. Sanji actually started kicking the man in his thick skull over and over again, trying to knock some sense into him as he yelled at the idiot boy he decided to follow.
"That was the worst plan ever!"
"Yeah, were you trying to kill all of us too?" Usopp's teeth were razor sharp as he raged at Luffy with the cook. Meanwhile the people of Cocoyasi were over being completely stunned into silence and had moved onto chattering amazement.
"That boy's incredible." Genzo said.
"I just can't believe there's a human that can throw that giant monster!" Nami cried beside him.
"It's as if the Gods themselves are fighting." Genzo added, disbelief clouding his voice but he couldn't deny what his own eyes saw.
Luffy started shifting back and forth, attempting to free his feet. He was pretty stuck, just like Tani had warned. He paused his shifting, ignoring Sanji's question about what he was doing, and concentrated with all his might. He sent his mystery power to his feet, and once again shifted back and forth. This time, the concrete cracked and his feet popped free from the stone.
"How dare you hurt our brother!" Hachi cried as he knelt near the closest downed fishmen to check on them. The furious and large blue fishman still standing spooked Usopp, and he retreated behind a still standing pillar, peaking out just enough to watch what was going to happen. After all, the other guys could handle a few more fishmen, no problem. Right?
"Very well. It seems that we must now join in the fight." Kuroobi told the humans, his frown making it seem like he wasn't going to enjoy this. He was.
"Now you'll get an education on the inferiority of your species. Chew." A fishman with elongated thick lips said.
"Oh? Really?" Zoro snarked back with way too much confidence for an injured man. "I'd like to see that."
"Relax, Sir." Kuroobi told his boss, who hadn't made a move from his spot since observing the way this man's insubordinates treated him, frowning at what he saw. "Let us handle this."
"If you go on one of your rampages to squash these insects you could destroy Arlong park. Chew."
Hachi stood then, all six arms in the air wiggling around with his fury. "Please! Just let us kill these weaklings!"
"Alright. There yours." Arlong said. With his bosses permission Hachi went on the offensive, throwing back his head and readying his attack.
"What the hell is that octopus doing?" Zoro asked as they watched the guys stomach expand.
"Octopus is best when it's cut thin and salted. Add some olive oil and paprika and it makes the perfect snack while drinking." Sanji told the guys.
"Oh! Will you make some for us later?" Luffy asked, very excited about food.
"Take this! Zero vision - Hachi Ink jet!"
Hachi leaned forward and shot thick black ink from inside him at the strawhats, who all scrambled to get out of the way. The ink jet missed every one of them, but covered the ground in the slick substance.
Hachi screamed in frustration that his attack missed. He looked around and spotted a large piece of the park that had broken off, picking it up, and aiming it at the group.
"Dodge this!" Hachi cried as he threw the wide bolder at the group. Usopp screamed, though he wasn't in the stone's path, while the other three that were in its way tensed up. Sanji stepped forward.
"Allow me."
The stone came down and from the fishmens perspective, it looked like Hachis attack worked. That is, until small fissures and cracks appeared in the center, with one final crack spitting the stone in two to reveal the completely unharmed pirates, Sanji's leg still raised in the air.
"Sanji, that was so totally awesomely awesome!" Luffy cried, stars in his eyes as he complimented his crew mate. The cook didn't respond to his captain but focused on the rude fishman in front of him.
"You guys are the lowest of the low, not because you're a bunch of fishmen, but because you're a gang of men who prayed on a lady."
"A lady, huh?" Kuroobi asked, stepping up to meet Sanji again. "You rushed into certain death for one losy girl? I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."
Sanji was not happy with the insult thrown at Nami, but he clamped down on his anger, and through gritted teeth replied with his own trash talking.
"Lousy girl? If you insult Nami one more time I can promise that you'll go from fishman to fish sticks. Got that?"
"Your skills are quite exceptional for a human. But I must admit that civerly from a pirate seems just a little fake."
"I'm damn good at what I do and I guarantee there's nothing fake about my desire to help a beautiful lady in need."
Kuroobi cracked his knuckles. "Looks like I'll be aquanting you with the true superiority of the fishmen species."
"Yeah?"
Arlong stood up, sick of the talking and no action, intent on stepping into the fight and fixing that himself. "You morons are a pathetic sight to behold. I'm sick of watching this, now get out of my way!"
"But Sir, there's no reason to go on a rampage. Think of Arlong Park!" Kuroobi told his boss. It was useless, but lucky for them someone moved in front of the shark.
"I don't think so." Luffy said, blocking Arlong's path to the other fights. "Don't interfere with their fight."
Arlong snarled at the boy, but ultimately stepped back, looking at his underlings and giving a command. "Destroy this boys crew, now, and afterwards I'll destroy him."
With that command, Hachi lept into action again. If his brother wasn't going to do anything he would!
"Maybe no one told you that the penalty for playing around in Arlong Park is death!" Hachi cried as he picked up another stone, getting ready to chuck it at the group. This time Zoro stepped forward before it left his ...tentacles? Hands?
"Hey octopus." Zoro held up his still sheathed sword. "Why don't you take me on?"
"You're Zoro! I forgot!" Hachi changed direction and brought the rock he was holding above his head smashing into the ground where Zoro had been standing, the man just barely managing to dodge the rock as it hit and shattered it into a million pieces. "You can't get away with tricking me! And how dare you mercilessly slaughter so many of my brothers!"
"That stuffs old news, octopus man. I personally don't care what reasons you have for wanting to kill me, the situation has changed. You see, the tables have turned. You're not the hunters anymore, understand? Now it's you fish freaks who are being hunted."
"Yeah, you tell him Zoro! That Octopus guy is yours!" Usopp cheered. This brought Chews attention to him though, and Usopp made the mistake of meeting the fishermans murderous eyes. Tears started pouring down his face as the fishman ran forward, and Usopp did the only thing he could think to do.
He ran.
"Hold on. Isn't that the guy who saved Genzo's life earlier?" One of the townspeople asked as the long nosed man ran by them.
Chew ignored Luffy, opting to chase after his prey who had left the park. The fishmen could see him in the distance, but as he made it past the opening blown in the wall, he saw a large group of people just standing around. Each one seemed to have a different emotion on their face at the sight of him, and a different weapon in their hands.
"Hey wait. You're the people from Cocoyasi. Judging by the fact that you all have weapons, I can only assume that this is a rebellion. Then you'll all have to-"
"EXPLODING STAR!"
The fishman was engulfed in flames and set tumbling back into the park from the attack. The fire stopped quickly though, and Chew looked out in the distance and saw the long nosed freak.
"Did you think it would be easy?" Usopp called out. "You're dealing with me now!"
"Enough! I'm going to get rid of you right now!" Chew yelled back. Usopp screamed and started up running again, remembering Tanis words mentioning outrunning his opponent. He could do that.
"Who is that man?" Genzo asked as he watched the two disappear. He seemed to be asking more questions than ever before.
"Brave one minute and cowardly the next. He's a baffling man." Nako commented.
"Get back here long nose!" The villagers could hear Chew yell.
"Oh you're one to talk!" Was the cowards reply, and a few of the townspeople that heard snickered.
While the strawhats were distracted watching their crewmember run away, Hachi announced his Inkjet move, sacrificing the element of surprise and giving Zoro enough time to move out of its path. Zoro shot forward and swung his sword, but Hachi ducked just in time. Rather than a brutal decapitation, only the tips of his spiked hair were chopped off.
"Oooo! You bastard! My hair!" Hachi raged, then suddenly just stopped. "But it's okay! It will grow back!"
"Huh?" Zoro was pretty confused at the rapid change of emotion.
"Now Zoro. You can't beat me! I have six hands that will mesmerize you with their wiggly beauty!" To Zoro's utter astonishment, the octopus started wiggling his arms around in what he will admit only to himself was a pretty cool pattern. What the hell was this fishmen playing at?
"Shut up." Zoro told him, and used the opportunity to charge forward, raising Wado high.
"Hachi's. Triple. Sword. Catch." The octopus cried in a weird jolting manner. "Now. You will. See my. Skills!"
Zoro brought Wado down, and Hachi attempted to grab it between his hands, three claps ringing out as he brought them together around...nothing.
Blood dripped down Hachi's forehead as he exclaimed "That hurt!"
Zoro didn't hear this exclamation. His vision had briefly gone black as he moved that last time, and he was using all his focus to just stay upright while his body tried everything it could do to get him to collapse to the ground. Sweat poured off of him. Everything felt too hot all of a sudden, yet burning even hotter seemed to be the wounds from his last fight.
"Oh not now." He muttered under his breath, forcing his body to do what he wanted, not the other way around.
Sanji had noticed the swordsman struggle, which meant his enemy's had noticed because it was very obvious. He narrowed his eyes at the man.
Is he still hurt? Sanji asked himself.
"Lose focus and you'll lose your life!" Kuroobi yelled as he charged at the distracted cook, throwing out one of his razor sharp elbow fins. Sanji dipped back to avoid the attack just in time, the end of his cigarette the only casualty in the attack.
"I bet you taste good with butter!" Sanji said, kicking the fishmen as hard as he could a few times in retaliation.
"Why don't you DIE!" Zoro yelled as he charged Hachi, bringing his sword down again in another attack. The octopus man jumped up and stuck to the building, avoiding the blow. Zoro's momentum in the swing brought him to one knee, and he struggled to stand back up.
"Too bad! Hachi suckers are stuck!"
Zoro panted as he stared up at the fishmen, who didn't move. He didn't do anything. After a few seconds of standing ready for the fishman's next attack Zoro got annoyed with his opponent and started yelling.
"Don't just stick there! Get down here and fight!"
Hachi smirked down at the annoyed man who only grumbled in response.
"Damn cowered."
"Stupid octopus." Johnny said from the sidelines. "He's just trying to waste our time."
Sanji meanwhile was exchanging plenty of blows with his opponent, who easily blocked them
"Bastard fishman!" Sanji snarled, blocking another one of the fishman's elbow shots and countered with a strong kick.
"Hey I've got a question that i've been meaning to ask you Zoro." Hachi said from his perch. "You're famous for your three sword technique, so why are you only using one?"
"You're running scared with one, why would I need three." Zoro said, panting with the effort.
"Shut up!" Hachi snarled back. ""I've just been playing around with you. Actually, humans can't defeat me! I can tell you why but I think it would be more fun to show you. Yeah, show! I like that! I think you're really going to enjoy it a lot too!"
Zoro tried to pay attention to what his opponent was saying, but his wound and recent fever were starting to overwhelm his senses. No matter how much he fought to push it down, block it out, walk it off, waves of nausea and searing pain crashed over him. He grunted as his vision blurred, tilting sideways. No, that was his vision, it was him. He stopped himself from falling to the ground, afraid he wouldn't actually be able to get back up if he did. Try as he might he couldn't stand back up fully though.
Luffy's eyes narrowed as he took his Zoro's prone form.
"Crap." Sanji said as he glanced back at his crewmate. "I thought as much. You still haven't recovered from your fight with hawkeye!"
Kuroobi paused too, waiting for the perfect time to strike again while watching the other human fail.
"Zoro!" Both Johnny and Yosaky cried out, worry for the man making them drop the usual big bro addition to their speech.
"I'm not stupid! Falling for the old injured animal routine. That's for children!" Hachi called out to him. "Be right back. It's time for you to see what my true skills really are!"
The octopus used all of his arms to shimmy up the column he was stuck too and made his way to the roof. He climbed inside an opened window, and returned quickly with six swords, one in each arm. He brandished them all, waving them around while still on the roof. "Now you may tremble in fear at Hachi's way of six blades!"
Zoro couldn't fight it any longer and collapsed onto the deck.
"Hey! You're not supposed to die yet! I haven't even killed you!" Hachi called down to the man.
"No! Zoro!" Yosaku cried out.
"I knew it, he's been fakin it!" Johnny wailed.
"So true! The way he's been pummeled would kill any normal guy but he tries to fight anyway." Yosaku said.
"What'd you say?!" The doctor asked, alarmed.
"I thought it was strange. He walked around like nothing had happened after such a horrible fight. He's laid out flat." Johnny cried.
Sanji turned his head back to his opponent as he sensed the incoming blow, but he wasn't fast enough to move or block it, only watching as the fist came close and smashed into his chest. He folded over, gasping for air. The cigarette had just enough time to fall from his mouth before he was sent flying backwards, into the wall surrounding Arlong park and crashing right through it.
"I told you to pay attention to me, you weakling. I'm a fortieth Don in Fishman Karate." Kuroobi said.
"Woah...what the...what the hell just happened?" A townsperson asked. Everyone was looking at the new hole in the wall, and the prone figure laying spread out yards away, his suit covered in dust.
"Sanji?" Johnny asked.
"It can't be him!" Yosaku insisted. He had seen this guy kick a sea cows ass. How did he let this small fry get the better of him?
Two out of three men were now down for the count. The people of Cocoyasi felt their hope slipping through their fingers like water.
"They're taken care of, Arlong. What would you like us to do with Zoro?" Hachi asked.
"What a waste of time. Just toss him in the sea! Hardly entertaining." Kuroobi scoffed.
While the victorious underlings talked, Arlong addressed the boy, who was looking at his fallen comrades but he couldn't make out what expression he wore from the shadow cast across his face.
Luffy knew his crew was stronger than them. He just had to wait, sometimes you needed a minute, but they'd get back up.
They just needed a minute.
They'd get back up.
Get back up damn it.
"Do you see now the power of the fishman?" Arlong snarled at the idiot boy, but he didn't seem to respond. Instead, Hachi was upset about the lack of a good fight, and started to go into a fit. His swords rang out as they clashed against each other.
"No fair! He killed himself! I never got the chance to show him how great of a swordsman I am. If he would have died on one of my six blades, I could have stolen his fame! Well, it's not matter, there isn't a human alive that can compare to my way of six blades." Hachi started swinging the blades around his body, air circling around him picking up dust and dirt. "Behold the superior power that only a six master swordsman can obtain."
The fishman created a vortex that was picking gaining strength, picking up larger pieces of rock and rubble.
"Enough Hachi. I understand how you must feel, but if you continue this little demonstration you'll destroy Arlong park." Kuroobi told the raging octopus.
Hachi stopped swinging his swords around, and the growing tornado shrunk down, rising into the air and floating away.
"I forgot I could destroy stuff." Hachi said sheepishly.
"Don't get carried away." kuroobi scolded.
"I'm fine now."
Through all this, Zoro may have been laying on the ground but he wasn't down for the count yet. He breathed, and he thought about all his reasons to fight. He thought about his promise to himself, his promise to Kuina, his promise to meet Mihawk again and win next time. How could he become the world's greatest swordsman if he died here? What would happen to Nami if he just gave up here, huh?
What would Tani think of him if he just up and died.
"Way of six blades. What a loser."
Every part of him screamed, but slowly Zoro stood back up. All eyes widened, some mouths even dropped. Luffy's mouth twitched into a small smile, nowhere near the one he usually gives. He didn't quite relax, but the boy felt better seeing his crew mate back of his feet.
Arlong couldn't believe his own eyes. Zoro was once again standing.
"WAY TO GOOOOO!" Johnny cried out.
"You're not dead!" Hachi pointed out the obvious. Zoro glared at him while he talked.
"Let me make this clear to you, you sorry excuse for a swordsman. There is a certain man I have to face and until I see him, death itself can not touch me."
Outside the park no one saw as Sanji moved his arm down, reaching into his pocket. He fished out a cigarette and his lighter, bringing both up to his mouth and lighting the stick. He breathed in the nicotine, and slowly let the cloud of smoke out, watching the way it twisted in the breeze.
He was going to fliet these fish bastards and serve them to Nami for all the shit they had put her thoguht, all the pain they had caused her, and because that fucking hurt, damn it!
Slowly he sat up, the town doctor the first one to notice him.
"He's still alive!" He exclaimed. The town was now torn between watching the dead man inside rise up or the dead man outside rise up.
"Alright big bro!" Yosaku called out as Sanji stood up and walked forward to the hole his body had made in the wall.
"That's the best punch that fishmans got?" Blood poured down Sanji's face from a head wound. "The old man's kicks were a hundred times worse than that, and I never even died."
Oblivious to the man getting back up outside, Hachi spoke to the shaking swordsmen in front of him.
"What's wrong with you Zoro? You look like you're having a really bad day or something."
As Hachi spoke Zoro removed his bandana around his arm, putting his sword in his mouth so he had both hands free to tie the cloth around his head.
"I've already demonstrated my way of the six blades to these pathetic humans, and there's no way you can hope to defeat me in that condition."
"Oh just shut up already." Zoro snapped. He swayed but came back, tense and ready to fight.
"Big bro.."
"He's taken such a beating."
The duo off to the side were worried about Zoro. First Mihawk and now this?
"I'm sure the onset of fever caused by his wounds is making him delirious. Or worse, if that wound opens up again I'm afraid he'll die for certain." The doctor said, making the duo even more scared for their big bros life.
"But he doesn't have time to think about that right now!" Johnny said.
"He's the only one who can fight that six freak!" Yosaku said.
"I'll show you...three sword style!" Zoro said, and called out as loud as he could, interrupting the men on the sidelines.
"Johnny, Yosaku, led me your swords!"
"Of course."
"Big bro! Catch!"
The boys threw their weapons end over end towards Zoro, the blades spinning end over end through the air.
"Ha! Now you'll understand why two hands never have a chance to beat me!" Hachi said. He brought his weapons in, crossing them over his body. "Six blades! Tentacle Sword Overload!"
Hachi charged forward at the man who was still just standing there. The bounty hunting duo called out warnings, but Zoro didn't listen to any of it. His hands snatched each sword out of the air, and he leaned sideways, twisting his body around the incoming attack. He was so close he could see the octopus's eyes widen slightly. Then their swords clashed, over and over in a flurry of metal. Zoro knew a split second before just where the blades would come down, and he saw an opening in the pattern.
"Three sword style...Streaming Wolf Swords!"
None of the townspeople saw how it happened, but one second they saw Zoro and Hachi clashing blades, and the next Zoro was behind the octopus, crouched low, and a second after that Hachi screamed, blood gushing out of his torso.
"He did it!" Yosaku cheered.
"He faced all six swords. And not even a scratch!" Johnny knew big bro was good, but this was something else. All the folks behind them were muttering about the attack.
"Perfect sword skill! With perfect concentration!" Nako commented.
"How dare you cut me like that!" Hachi raged. He spun around to face Zoro again, showing the x shaped wound across his chest. "Now I'm really mad! I'll kill you, bastard! There's no way you'll survive my next attack! You just got lucky, is all! You're never beat my six swords with your three! I have twice as many swords as you! Don't you get it? Six is more!"
"I was never really good at math." Zoro said, but made no move to face his opponent just yet. He used the moment to think of his promises. Of Kuina, of Mihawk, of Luffy, of Nami… of Tani.
"Three swords. Six swords. Doesn't matter." Zoro spun around and looked Hachi straight in the eyes. "You may have more swords than me, but mine will always carry more weight than yours."
"Weight you say? It may not look like it, but my swords actually weigh quite a bit. Over three hunded pounds each, to be exact. They weigh much more than your pathetic human swords." Hachi told him.
"I meant the burden of-oh forget it." Zoro cut himself off, not bothering to explain his meaning to this idiot. It was a waste of time. And strength.
"Way of six swords!" Hachi moved so all the tips of his blades faced Zoro, forming a ring. "Octopus pot-stance."
Zoro's eyes widened, but he knew exactly what this fish planned to do as he moved forward. Zoro blocked each one of the swords pointed at his chest, and they stood locked like that for a few seconds, Hachi trying to push forward but Zoro refused to give even a millimeter. Zoro knew even before Hachi flung the swords open, bringing his out too, that he planned on rushing head first into the man, and just barely twisted out of the way, feeling Hachi brush past him. Zoro felt the stitches Tani had done rip open when he moved in such a weird way to dodge the attack, but he pushed past the pain and used the opening to his advantage. He cut the octopus' arms as he passed by, the clangs of his swords dropping ringing out in the courtyard.
"Damn it!" Hachi cried as he looked upon his bloody hands. "First you timed your roll to dodge my tentacle sword overload, then you slice and dice my hands up like some cheap sushi chef?! How dare you make a spectacle of my master swordsmen ship! You'll pay for that you son of a bitch! I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Zoro didn't even turn around. He was panting, shaking, sweating, swaying. He was in bad shape. He had to beat this fishman though. Just a little longer. He would do this.
He would never lose again.
"Look at that. He's in pain." Johnny cried.
"That dodge! He probably opened up his wounds when he moved like that!" Yosaku added.
"I wish I could take his place right now." Johnny finished.
As Hachi ran forward with the same pot-stance attack as before, Zoro forced his body to not even feel the pain he was in. This wound would kill a normal man, but he wasn't that. He wouldn't be that. He must be extraordinary! When he sensed Hachi was close, Zoro spun around. A clang rang out as metal clashed, and then metal cut metal. Zoro continued to spin, calling out "Dragon twister!" as pieces of swords got caught up in the wind Zoro was making. Hachi went flying into the air, small cuts forming as the wind pushed the blades around him.
Every person's mouth hung open as they saw Hachi in the air, hovering right at his peak, before gravity took over and brought him and the pieces of his swords crashing down into the concrete. Dust and stone flew up,
"So fish. You finally understand. The weight I carry with my three swords. You satisfied?" Zoro fell on his ass, using a sword to hold himself up while he sat and caught his breath.
"Alright. Now that tentacles is out of the way, I think it's time to take a nap." Zoro said, completely serious.
"Watch out!" Yosaku cried to his big bro. Everyone in the village looked on in horror as Kuroobi walked up behind Zoro, getting ready to punch the wounded man.
"How could you do that to Hachi?" Kuroobi cried as he brought his fist down, only to be stopped by a kick, pushing him back. A kick from the guy he had punched through a wall.
"You!" Kuroobi couldn't believe this guy was back up.
"You thought you'd gotten rid of me, huh?" Sanji asked.
"Not bad. I didn't know there was anyone in the east blue who could stand back up after one of my punches." The fishman said, hiding how truly surprised he was that the kid was standing again.
"Oh sure. There's a whole bunch, at a certain restaurant I know. Wanna go?"
Kuroobi snarled at the cocky prick. "I don't think so."
It was a small thud that made Sanji glance back, seeing Zoro on the ground again.
"Cook, Captain. You guys take it from here."
Sanji was tempted to roll his eyes, but he had to dodge an incoming attack before he could do it. Unfortunately it clipped him, and that left him open for another blow that set him out over the water. He struggled to get a breath before he went crashing down, slowing down the second he hit the water but still going right under and far down. He barely started swimming up when the fishman was right in front of him. He kicked out of instinct, his leg moving sluggishly through the water. It made the fishman laugh, and Sanji realized he could actually understand the fishman as he talked underwater.
"Too bad. Your kick is powerless down here! That's more of your human weakness! But my fishmen karate loses nothing in water. Quite the contrary, it's much more powerful."
Kuroobi paused, curling up.
"Fishman Karate Underwater Featherbuster!" He cried as he kicked out, sending Sanji into a nearby coral reef.
The fishman wasted no time and swam after the kid, watching as he struggled to swim up to the surface, the weakling desperate for air. He enjoyed the look of fear on the boy's face when he cut him off just before the surface.
"Didn't you say something like 'Any man who hurts a lady is a piece of crap'? And yet, look at what your precious love of women has finally gotten you. You'll die by my hand. I'll kill Zoro, that long nosed guy, your captain. I hear there's another girl on your crew, and I'll get here too don't worry. And as my final pleasure I'll murder that tradorous bitch Nami. Don't you see? Your love is worthless, if it can't save you, then you protect no one! Not even your little girlfriend Nami!" He swam down, the closer he got the more the boy struggled, trying to swim down and away from the fishman but knowing that meant he was also swimming farther away from the air he so desperately craved.
"I'll admit that you have some skills, but still, in the end you're just a human." Kuroobi reached out, and drew the boy in close, whispering in his ear now. "Your body doesn't react well to a sudden change in pressure, does it? I have a theory of what's going to happen to you." He drew back so Sanji could get a good look at the smirk on his face before he told this boy his theory.
"Your organs are going to explode from the inside out!"
With that he flipped them over and dove, fast, down down down. He could feel the boy struggling in his arms, and as he flipped again to land with his feet at the bottom he could smell the human's blood leaking out of him.
As Kuroobi stayed down there, holding the man down to the sea floor, laughing at his misery, he realized that although the boy was beaten and bleeding, he just wouldn't die.
"Very well, we'll just have to try it again!" He snarled, and tugged Sanji's body up near the surface.
Sanji meanwhile was starting to think. He was right next to his gills, and Sanji realized that being underwater meant his gills were at work, not his lungs.
Sanji clamped his mouth over the slit in his neck, forcing the last of his air into the surprised fishmans gills, making him suffocate underwater. Kuroobi started choking and headed to the surface, and Sanji went along for the ride.
The second his head was above the water Sanji breathed deeply, his ribs protesting but his lungs singing. He coughed and scrambled up onto land, expelling the water that had made it into his lungs.
"SANJI!" Luffy cried, very happy to see his nakama was okay. He was worried that he was going to have to jump in, but he knew he couldn't swim, his devil fruit would turn him weak immediately. Last thing his crew needed was for him to be sinking to the bottom of the ocean. But it didn't stop Arlong from taunting him about this weakness and using it to spew more nonsense about how great fishman were.
Luffy didn't care about that. He cared that Sanji had made it back on land okay.
Sanji didn't respond to his captain, instead he spun around to face the water and started shouting, jabbing towards the shadow far below.
"Get your ass up here! I want to fight where I can breathe!"
The shadow grew larger and larger, and when Kuroobi surfaced he sprayed water in every direction. He looked hard at the chef above him.
"You still don't get it do you?" As he spoke he climbed out, sick of looking up to talk to a human that was far below him. "It doesn't matter to me if i'm on land or in the water, I'm just as strong either way. Now you will witness the true power of fishman karate. When I punched you before, that was just a sample of things to come. My ultimate attack is ten times as powerful, and the chances you'll survive it are ZERO!"
Sanji's leg stretched, and before the fishman could start his next attack he went down with a kick to the neck. The cooks rage had increased ten fold, and he was stronger for it. As Sanji continued kicking the fishman, he would call out different body parts he was about to hit.
"You said my love was worthless? SHOULDER!"
"I can't protect anyone is that right? RIBS! BACK! CHEST! LEGS!"
Kuroobi snarled as he struggled to stand back up.
"Son of a bitch! Thousand brick fist!" The fishman cried out but was surprised to see his opponent had disappeared. No wait, he was...he was above him?
"FACE SHOT!" Sanji's kick landed right between Kurboois eyes, with enough force behind it to send the fishman flying back and into the building that towered over them. There was a massive amount of sounds, stone breaking and glass shattering and wood splintering, and before the dust had even settled Sanji looked at Arlong.
"Now it's done. He won't be back." Sanji wishes he could light up a cigarette desperately, but his matches were soaked and useless now. Instead he glared at the remaining standing fishman and put his hands in his pockets, hiding their slight shake.
"In the end, they're all just seafood. Fish can't fight a cook, I don't know what he was thinking. This game is ours."
"Chew. What a pain in the ass. That long nosed freak sure could run forever." The long mouthed fishman said as he stood over said man's pummeled body. "But it took just one blast from my squirt gun to take him out completely. I guess I should head back, it's all over by now for sure."
Usopp listened as the footsteps faded off into the distance, nearly snickering to himself at his own cleverness. His ketchup star really came in handy, and these people, well fish, whatever, they were insane!
He was covered in blood, but he needed to look like he fought more. He started rubbing dirt on himself as he practiced what he was going to tell the others when he got back.
"Hey. I'm sorry, I got lost. Yeah that's good. No! I did my best but he got me! Maybe. I was this close to the bastard but he got away! Nah, sounds like I'm trying too hard.
(Were friends right? So get on.)
Usopp ignored the memory of his captains smiling face, offering him to join a real pirate crew.
"How about, Don't cry Nami! We all did the very best we could!"
(Never in my life did I imagine I'd lose)
He shoved the image of Zoro away, rubbing the dirt into his skin with more force.
"Or Everybody fought very bravely."
(But the truth is that our idiot captain is far better than a gang who would pray on a lady)
His fingers slowed.
"-Maybe...I nearly died myself."
(It's for my business. This was my only choice.)
This was for Nami.
"Nami, no, to tell the truth my injuries aren't bad at all, really."
(Big sis Nami was crying. Do they need any more reason than that to put their lives on the line?)
These men who weren't even part of the crew cared more than he did?
(To make a choice like that when you're only ten. Do you know how hard that must have been for Nami?)
Nojiko had cried when she told them what her sister had gone through.
(YEAHHHHH!)
The town cheered, ready to die, and ran to their deaths with smiles on their faces.
"I fought...bravely. I never quit. Yeah, that's-"
(You're a straw hat now, one of us.)
Was Tani lying? No. That was him.
"I'm just...a liar."
Kaya and the Usopp pirates flashed through his mind, hardening his resolve. He stood up, wiped away all his tears, before turning around and shouting at the top of his lungs before he had any second thoughts.
"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
"Oh?" The fishman paused his retreat, glancing over his shoulder. "You're still alive? Chew."
"That's right, big lips! It takes more than water to kill me!"
As the fishman stalked back towards him, he removed his trusty sling shot from his bag again, selecting an exploding star and thinking on all his crew members, and how they lived their life every single day with no regrets, right on the edge.
The fishman was running at him now, and he raised up his weapon and took aim.
His friends- they laughed so much during the good times because they faced the bad times head first. If he didn't do this, if he didn't also give it his all, then how could he ever face his friends again?
He let the pellet fly and it exploded, right on target. Unfortunately out of the cloud of smoke and gunpowder came a fist, which landed right between his eyes with such force that he flipped backwards, hit the ground, and bounced back into the air.
"Fool." Chew landed with one knee down, skidding to a stop. "You were better off pretending you were dead. The human brain is a waste of meat."
Chew walked over to where Usopp had crashed back into the ground.
"I don't feel good." Usopp moaned. Every part of him hurt, but he was aware enough to curl up into himself in a way that hid what he was preparing.
"Oh yeah?" Chew kicked the boy. "I'm just getting started!"
"Stop it." Usopp said. Chew scoffed, like that was going to get him to back off. But that's all the time Usopp needed, and he drew back his hand that was rummaging around in his bag.
"USOPP HAMMER!" The boy cried and swung, hitting the fishman in his elongated mouth with the weapon he just pulled from his sack. Before the screaming fishman could recover Usopp grabbed another random item from his bag, standing up to face his opponent again.
"USOPP RUBBER BAND OF DOOOOOOOOOM!" The fishman flinched, shutting his eyes and waited for the inevitable sting, but when none came he cracked open one eye, then flung both opened.
Usopp had disappeared.
"Ah! Crap! Where did that stupid son of a bitch go?" Chew looked back and forth, but saw no sign of the long nosed idiot. His blue skin actually started turning red as his anger rose, and soon he was standing there shaking with rage.
"Special attack-" Usopp's voice came from somewhere nearby, a bottle flying through the air. Chew caught it, and tipped his head.
"Sake?" He asked, clearly confused as to what this was supposed to do. He didn't get a chance to do anything with the bottle, as the cry of "LEED STAR!" was followed a split second later with the sound of shattering glass, and the bottle in the fishman's hand exploded, covering him in the strong smelling alcohol and sending him reeling back into one of the pools of water used to grow crops on the island.
"Is this the only way you can fight, you cowered? There's no place to hide from my squirt cannon!" Chew called out to him. He ducked down and started sucking up the water he was standing in, draining the pool dry.
"Stupid coward or whatever, I can't run from this fight! I'm supposed to be a man, although it doesn't really feel all that great to be manly. If I lose, I die. At least I'll die a pirate.
"SQUIRT CANNON!" The shout interrupted Usopp's pity party from his hiding spot in the trees nearby, and he shut his eyes as he felt the misty spray of the water, though it was nothing compared to before. When the sounds around him dissipated and the water stopped coming down, he opened his eyes and then flew them opened wider. The trees right next to him were gone! All the vegetation was blown over by the water, and he craned his neck out to get a good look.
Chew could very obviously see Usopp looking at the destruction he just caused, and sighed.
"Damn it. Why should I have to waste my time with such an idiot. It's too easy. I'll shred you to pieces." Chew started shooting off small bullets of water right at the sniper, who ducked back behind the tree for cover and started screaming.
"How did he find me?! Crap crap, holy crap! I wanted to be a real pirate, and now that I've got my chance, why, I know I can do it! I know I can! I promise, if I survive this ordeal, I'll never pretend to be a pirate ever again! I won't be a coward and run away! My fake pirate days- are over!"
Just as he finished his promise, the water bullets stopped, but the sound of tearing behind him made him realize he should move, now.
Chew moved forward with his covering fire, getting right to the tree and ripping it out of the ground, revealing the yelling coward who he kicked forward.
"What did you say is done?" Chew asked as he held the trunk above his head, ready to bring it down right onto the guys head.
"This whole fight!" Chew didn't care about the last shot the long nosed idiot would get off before he crushed his body, that is until he heard what his plan was.
"Alcohol lights on fire! USOPP FLAMING STAR!"
Chew had just enough time for his eyes to widen before the round exploded in his face, lightening his entire body on fire. He screamed, dropping the tree to the side and started freaking out. He couldn't get the fire to go out, and he was drying out. He needed water!
He started chanting "Water!" as he ran back to the crops, but Usopp was faster. He took off after the fishman and with all his strength, Usopp jumped into the air and cried out "Usopp Hammer!"
He whacked the fishman as far as he could.
Usopp stood up from where he had landed from that last attack, and looked at the still smoking fishman with a feeling of hope that was quickly snuffed out when he lifted his head and shouted out "BASTARD!"
Usopp wasted no time and ran forward, giving him several more Usopp hammers and a few rubberbands of doom for good measure, before he took a step back. He was panting with the effort, and waited to see if the fisherman would get up again. As his breathing came a bit easier and the fishman still didn't get up, Usopp let that hope he felt earlier fill him up. He collapsed backwards, laying there and just recuperating.
"You see that loser! I beat your ass!"
Usopp took a few more breaths, and decided to cheer out again.
"Who's a pirate now?! I AM USOPP THE PIRATE!"
Arlong looked over his fallen brothers and felt his rage build and build. How dare they do this. How dare these insolent little createns do this!
"You bastards. You all will pay for this." Arlong stalked forward and scooped up water into his webbed hand. He rolled it around, forming it into a ball and flung his hand forward. Water shot out of his hand at the speed of a cannon. He was aiming for the two insects but their rubber captain jumped between his shot, his body pushing in and then back, but he held his ground and eventually the rubber snapped forward. The water shot back at him full force, but simply broke around him, spraying him with a refreshing mist.
"I control the water. Don't you get it? I am the superior species, I am so much stronger than you humans will ever be!"
Luffy didn't care what this guy was saying. It was his turn to kick ass again.
"GUM GUM WHIP!"
Luffy brought his leg around full force, but didn't send the fishman far back. He threw his arm back out and over the water, and when he brought it forward the force sent waves out into the water.
"GUM GUM PISTOL!"
Again Arlong was pushed back, but not much. Luffy started punching forward and stalking towards his opponent, letting his fists go faster and faster until they blurred.
"GATLING!"
He continued to punch Arlong, forcing his back and back and finally sending him flying into one of the few standing walls left of Arlong parks main building. Large pieces of the building collapsed on top of the fishman.
"Yes!" Luffy cheered for himself, proud of how strong he was getting. Make no mistake, he knew this fight wasn't over. He would have been disappointed if it was. So he wasn't surprised when Arlong shifted off the fallen stone and stood once again.
"Is that all you got?" The shark asked.
"IT'S NOT WORKING!" The bounty hunting duo off on the side unhelpfully cut in.
"Nope." Luffy locked his hands together and stretched, hearing a few pops. "Just a warm up."
He leaned over, stretching each side. He was mostly doing it because he thought it was funny, and he wanted to put the other people at ease. If they saw he wasn't worried, they could worry less.
"What a bunch of fools. You think you can actually beat me? You're better off drowning on the ocean floor."
"Nah, I don't think so. I like it up here."
"Do you not understand my anger? I saw my brothers crushed like worms!" Instead of acknowledging the man Luffy started twisting back and forth to stretch some more. "You'll realize soon enough that you should have quit fighting a long time ago."
"Do you think Luffy's going to be okay? I mean, Arlong doesn't seem to be affected by his attacks at all." Yosaku asked.
"LUFFY! I GOT YOUR BACK!" Usopp cried, appearing once again.
"Big bro Usopp!" The duo cheered together.
"Can you believe it? I beat one of the officers! I wiped the smug off his stupid face!" Usopp pulled his lips forward in an imitation of the fishmas and added in his speaking tic. "Chew."
The duo thought the impression was hilarious, and Luffy was amazed at his snipers talents to imitate people! Nojiko even cracked a smile.
Arlong was absolutely livid though. This one beat Chew? This long nosed weakling coward somehow defeated one of his strongest?
He yelled and punched forward, but the rubber brat dodged. Each swing forward was a miss, and Arlong increased the speed of his punches. He paused suddenly, and looked at the human who had gotten this far.
"Do you know what the biggest difference between you and me is?"
"The nose?"
Arlong stared at the idiot before him, watching him crack his knuckles again before putting up his fists.
"The jaw?"
The fishman honestly couldn't believe this boy's stupidity.
Luffy's eyes lit up and he moved out of his fighting stance, bringing his hand forward and spreading out his fingers, pointing at the space between.
"Webbing!"
Arlong roared with rage, his eyes going white. He reared back.
"SPECIES!"
With all his might Arlong shot forward with his mouth opened, his jaws closing around air as Luffy jumped out of the way. The fishman gave the rubber boy no time to recover, and darted forward to bite again. Over and over the fishmans jaws closed around nothing as Luffy continued to jump back and out of the way. When they got close to what was probably the last standing pillar in the park, Arlong reached forward and grabbed the boy's neck, slamming him into it, and trapping the boy. This time Luffy grabbed his own head and pulled, stretching his neck out to dodge the attack. Arlongs teeth clamped around the stone pillar.
"Oh man." Usopp almost felt bad, but he didn't. "I bet that had to be painful! His teeth must be sha-aaaa!"
Fissures started appearing, starting at the fishmans mouth. The spread up and down the pillar as Arlong bit harder, shattering the pillar beneath him and not his teeth. With that all the stones fell, and one hit the fishmas wrist, loosening his grasp on Luffy which gave him enough room to free himself and put some distance between the two of them, literally scrambling away on all fours.
Sanji wasn't quite as bad as the duo, whose eyes were literally bugging out of his head, but he felt just as surprised. If Arlong bit you, it wouldn't just leave a mark, it'd go right through your bones!
Arlong smirked as he faced Luffy again. "You see? This is the inherent power of fishman." Luffy frowned, but didn't move to get up as Arlong kept talking and stalked forward. "I feel sorry for you humans having been created with such limited power. We've been on a different level since the beginning of time. You are inferior, It only makes sense for you to bow before me." Arlong stopped a few feet away, laughing before continuing with his speech.
"You're so weak. Your presence on this planet is deplorable. Don't you think your time has come to an end? I'll show you. Show you the real difference between you and I."
"Sure, go ahead." Luffy said, standing up and looking Arlong right in the eye so he'd know how serious he was. "There's no way I'm losing to a fishman because I'm going to be King of the Pirates."
"King of the Pirates?" Arlong scoffed, and picked up a large stone from nearby, tossing it in the air as he spoke. "Don't be foolish. A puny human like you couldn't possibly conquer the Grand Line. You can't even crush a pillar with their jaws."
Arlong chuckled, and Luffy just got more annoyed.
"Yeah, so what?" Luffy pulled back his arms. "Quit your bragging." He let his fist fly into the nearby rubble, creating more of a mess. "You're not that awesome."
Luffy looked at the fishman, as if daring him to make the next move.
"Besides, smashing stone with your teeth isn't that smart." As if Luffy was one to talk about smart moves.
"WAy to go! You're the best big bro! Tell it like it is!" Yosaku Cheered.
"Yeah what idiot bites a rock anyway?!" Johnny called out.
"FOOLS!" Arlong cried. "That's not the point! Every member of the human race is ignorant and weak! What good are you if you can't even pull yourself out of the water?"
Arlong shot forward, mouth first, and once again bit down on air as Luffy moved out of the way. The rubber man stretched his arms and snatched up two of Zoro's discarded swords, making sure not to use the white one, because he knew that was his swordsman treasure.
"As a matter of fact im worthless without my friends to help me out."
Luffy's arms recoiled back and he brushed his new weapons.
"No way. Luffy's a swordsman?" Sanji said, taken back at the development. Too bad it was the wrong conclusion to draw.
Luffy started swinging the swords back and forth with little technique or care.
"Is this a joke?" Arlong asked as he easily dodged each swing without his nose ever meeting the steel blades in Luffy's hands. "Whatever it is, it isn't swordplay. You're just flailing around like a child playing pirate. "
With every swing, Luffy huffed, or gave off a short "Take that!" "And that!" and eventually he just was screaming at the fishman and wildly swinging.
Finally Arlong's nose met the steel and a loud ringing echoed in the air. The sword was ripped from Luffy's hand and went spinning into the air.
"I hope you realize this isn't a game."
As an answer, Luffy brought his remaining sword back with both hands and swung in a wide arch towards the fishman. His teeth met the blade this time and a chunk of the sword went flying as it shattered beneath his teeth.
"That's enough." Arlong spoke around the pieces of sword in his mouth. "Time to die."
Luffy twisted back and around, throwing another punch. "SHUT YOUR FACE!"
His hand his Arlongs jaw, whose teeth clamped down. Agony ripped through his mouth. Then, and Arlong would forever claim it was from using his teeth so much before rather than the boys fists, every tooth in his mouth shattered.
"You're right! I don't know how to use a sword at all you bastard!" Luffy cried out with his fists held high as he stood above the fishman. Everyone that heard him was confused as to where this guy was going with this.
"I'm a terrible sailor. I definitely can't cook. I can't lie. I never think ahead. And without my friends to help me I would have been dead a long time ago!"
Arlong chuckled from the ground. "So you fully admit how pathetic you are? You may be a fool, but you certainly are honest."
Arlong sat up to look at the boy better, covering his mouth with his webbed hand. "How must your crew feel, tolerating this idiocy day in and day out? I bet they're sick of it. But that makes me wonder why they tried so desperately to fight alongside their halfwit leader who stood on the sidelines. Someone like you doesn't deserve a ship or a crew. What good is a helpless rubber brained Captain to them? What could you possibly do?"
"I can kick your ass!" Luffy told him.
"Well get to it, you numskull." Sanji told him.
"If he dies, I'm gonna kill him." Zoro muttered loud enough only Sanji heard, making the cook snort.
"I've got your back Luffy!" Usopp called out from behind the wall.
All of Cocoyasi village also started cheering out for their hero, encouraging him on.
"Cheer all you want but it wont change a thing!" Arlong said, standing up without the hand around his mouth, letting his old teeth fall and new, sharper ones take their place.
Luffy's jaw dropped as he saw what happened. "He's got new teeth!"
"I'm a shark. New teeth will grow one after another. And with each set, they become stronger and stronger." Arlong ripped his new teeth from his mouth. "Endlessly."
He kept his mouth open so everyone could see the next new set of teeth emerge from his gums.
"As many as it takes." Arlong pledged before ripping that set out too and growing a new pair again in seconds.
"This is but one of the many gifts us fishman poses."
Luffy had sinced closed his jaw, but his face still showed disbelief and...awe?
"That's so cool!" Luffy said, his voice telling everyone he was a bit jealous.
Arlong held a set of teeth in each hand, holding them up to show them to the rubber boy.
"If you haven't yet realized fishman are superior, you will very soon."
Arlong started clicking the teeth together, reminding Sanji of what he does when he clinks the tongs in the kitchen together and making the teeth thing even worse for him.
"Teeth attack!" Arlong cried, and jabbed forward, trying to bite Luffy with three sets of teeth instead of just one. Eventually the onslaught became too much, and Luffy was much too panicked to will his mystery power to protect him, so he grabbed the closest thing and shoved it between himself and the teeth.
Over and over Arlong's teeth clamped down on flesh, and he thought it was the rubber boy until a voice called out to him.
"What! My brother!"
In front of Arlong was one of the fishman Luffy had taken out earlier by swinging Momoo around. He fell over as Luffy let go of him, crashing to the deck and making Arlong's rage spike.
"You're dead you strechy freak! How dare you use my injured brother as a shield!"
"What are you talking about? You're the one who attacked me, don't you remember?" Luffy asked.
Arlong ignored this, and swung his arms around, snapping the teeth.
"Don't move a muscle, rubber man!"
"Hey, now that's an interesting idea." Luffy said, and everybody started chattering at what Luffy could mean.
Alrong's next tooth attack was a bit easier to dodge, Luffy didn't even have to be on the defensive long before he was able to put his plan into action, swinging a leg up and into Arlongs jaw, making the set of teeth in his mouth pop out.
"You fool! There's no point in crushing my teeth!" Arlong said, showing off the new set. "You really don't get it!"
Everyone else really didn't know what to say, they were somewhere between disgusted and amused as the saw what Luffy had done.
"Big bro Luffy." Yosaku spoke up. "uh, that can't be very sanitary."
"So what!" Luffy struggled to call out. His words took on an interesting lisp. "Now I have Shark Teeth!"
"Really what were they expecting, it's Luffy." Zoro said, and Sanji questioned his own sanity at agreeing to sail under the idiot.
"Stop playing games!" Arlong cried, and shot forward. Luffy's eyes widened, and he sent everything he could to protect his shoulder. Just before Arlong bit down it turned black, and the sharks teeth weren't able to draw blood.
"Stupid rubber boy!" Arlong cried out, assuming the reason he couldn't bite was the rubber quality, having not seen the black haki coating the boy's shoulders.
He changed his strategy and grabbed a rock, smashing it into Luffy's body. The boy scrambled backwards, but didn't avoid the kick that sent him back even more. Arlong dove forward after him and managed to wrap his hand around Luffy's neck, strangling the boy. Luffy stretched his neck and used his shark teeth to bite into Arlong's own shoulder, the pain making him lose his grip and letting Luffy escape.
"Gottcha! Now we're even!" Luffy said, laughing like an idiot.
"So you used my teeth." Arlong ripped the set out of his scaly skin. "But your puni jars aren't strong enough. Now listen, sharp as my teeth are, they're only useful when they come with powerful jaws like mine, then they're deadly!"
Arlong moved forward, and Luffy moved to block his attack with his elbow, black spreading over his skin.
Everyone in the park looked on in horror.
This time Arlong caught sight of the familiar black power and his eyes wided, nearly letting go with his teeth in shock, but he doubled down instead. So what this brat had unlocked Armament haki, idiot probably didn't know what it was, it was probably untrained, and therefore, he could probably break through. Again he tried to bite down with more force, this time making the rubber boy scream.
Luffy reached up and grabbed the back of Arlong's neck, to the great surprise of the fishsman. His foot rose into the air and Arlong expected to be kicked, but instead his foot smashed into the ground, and he used to force to swing the shark down into the concrete too, Luffy's elbow pile driving into the mouth that was biting him.
Filled with pain and now dazed, Arlong let go of the arm in his mouth, letting the momentum roll Luffy away from his opponent.
"Is his arm okay?" Usopp asked, peaking through the whole in the wall.
"If he took a single step back his arm would have been ripped off!" Genzo said.
"Yeah, but he wasn't thinking about how animal fangs work, that would require a tiny bit of brain power." Sanji said back to the man.
Luffy stood, and looked around, but couldn't find where Arlong had gone. That was weird. Where did he go?
"Big Bro! The sea!"
"Hey look! A shark!" Luffy cried.
"That's Arlong!" Usopp called out to his idiot captain.
"So wait, he went under?" Luffy asked out loud.
Arlong drifted back, waiting for his strength to build up, waiting for the perfect moment. Just as Luffy peered deep into the water, Arlong knew it was time and he screamed as he shot up and out of the water.
"SHARK DART!"
Luffy knew exactly what was going to happen, and barely stepped out of the way of the incoming fishman, the wind from his fast moving body pushing him back.
Arlong crashed into the third story of Arlong park, creating another huge whole in the building. Luffy waited for Arlong to come out of the hole he had made. He wasn't waiting long.
"Wow. I'm impressed you could dodge that. Good job. But the longer you avoid your death, the more painful it will be. SHARK DART!"
Luffy's eyes widened, but he waited until the last second to dodge this shark dart, making Arlong land right into the concrete, nose first. His impact made a chunk of the stone break off, the stone falling into the nearby water.
"SHARK DART!" Arlong said, using the dust as cover and coming out right for Luffy. He only just avoided that one by a hair, landing on all fours, when all of his instincts yelled at him to move. He glanced up just in time to see Arlong before he rammed into Luffy nose fist, sending the rubber boy flying in the air, screaming the entire time. Arlong dove into the sea before Luffy had crashed back down to the ground.
"Hey Luffy! Hide! Arlong went into the sea again!"
"Hurry up big bro! You gotta hide from him!"
"He's setting his sights on you right now!"
"Get out of there!" Usopp pleaded.
"I won't hide."
"Stop being so stupid. Go run for cover before you become a target!" Sanji told his captain.
"No way." Luffy was panting, shaking, tired. But he stood tall. "I'm not running anywhere. I'm going to catch him and break his nose! Come on! You shark!" Luffy said. Steam came out of his nose like a bull getting ready to charge.
"You've got some nerve. Or you realized, it's pointless to try and hide from me." Arlong said, hearing the boy even from underwater. He admired that he was going to stand there and take this beating.
As Usopp begged and pleaded with Luffy, the rubber boy ignored him. He squatted down and stretched his fingers in front of him, calling out the move.
"Gum Gum Shield!"
"I don't think that will stop the attack!" Yosaku whined as if it was him being injured.
Arlong went farther back, getting double the speed and force for his next attack.
"Take this!" The sharked yelled as he swam up through the water and shot out at the surface. He collided with Luffy, and he was still moving in the air, but something was off. He narrowed his eyes when he saw that no, the person who cried out that the boy was hit was wrong. The rubbed boys fingers had stopped his nose from piercing his heart.
They traveled up to the fifth story this time, and Luffy jumped off his ride up before they smashed into the building, instead hugging the wall and somehow sticking there.
"It's over. That attack won't work now!" Luffy laughed, but was interrupted by Arlong using that attack from below him, breaking through the building, sending Luffy flying.
"You bastard! That was just pure luck!" Luffy called out as he fell. Arlong launched off the building and tried to attack the boy in midair.
Luffy stretched his fingers out again, this time much farther than before.
"Gum Gum Finger Net!"
Arlong was caught up in the net, swung around, and sent to the ground. Luffy stretched out his legs and kicked down, forcing Arlong down to the ground the rest of the way.
Everyone cheered, but Luffy wasn't quite sure it was over. He jumped down, trying to see if the fishman was dead or not, but he was met with Arlongs eyes opening, rage filling them like never before.
"You wretched human!" Arlong called out, snatching Luffy from the air and swinging him around like a lasso. "What have you done to me? A mighty fishman!" Arlong let him go, and Luffy crashed into some rubble.
Arlong reached forward, and Luffy just missed his arm grabbing him. The shark forced his arm up, and found just what he was looking for.
He pulled, and out came his favorite weapon.
This rubber boy's death would hurt.
"What's that?" Luffy asked as he got a look at the weapon. No one had an answer for him as Arlong used the spiked blade to attack, forcing Luffy to jump higher and higher with every swing of the blade. Eventually he couldn't go up any higher, and had to go inside.
"That was a little too close." Luffy said, panting on the floor. He spun around when he heard destruction behind him and saw Arlong busting through the window, his larger body breaking the frame and more glass. Standing in the room over him Arlong thought he had this boy dead to rights. What a fitting place to end this fight.
"There's nowhere else to run. You and me, here. In the highest level of Arlong park. At last, the time of your death has come."
"What is this room?" Luffy asked as he looked around. Wasn't a kitchen, wasn't a bedroom, what other rooms were there? " Lot of paper. "
Arlong nearly lost it with that whispered comment, but he reminded himself that the boy was an idiot. And explaining to him just what was going to happen, that he would die here and then he would make Nami draw more maps in the very spot he took his final breath… It was all the better.
"This isn't just any room. This is the room I make Nami draw all of her sea charts for me."
He saw something flash in the boy's eyes, making the fishman smirk. The boy was starting to see. He wasn't quite there yet, but he would be.
"This is Nami's room?" He asked.
Arlong nodded and really drove his point home.
"These sea charts are what she's worked on all these years. Just look around you, these maps are more valuable than any amount of treasure. You see to us fishman collecting data about the ocean is a simple affair. But assembling that raw information into a useful chart is a difficult task. That's why we needed a surveyor. In fact that is the sole reason I'm so keen on keeping that woman in my possession."
Arlong speech was starting to drag on, but Luffy was pretty sure he got what he was saying now. He started looking around the room now instead of listening so much, taking in the desk with a half finished map, the ones that were done, hanging on strings drying. He took in the papers stacked high with finished maps, and the even higher stacks of fresh paper.
"She's absolutely brilliant. The accuracy of her charts is beyond comparison. She's too good for human trash like you. Her talent should be used solely for building up the mighty Arlong Empire. Now listen. Nami belongs to me."
"Is that so?" Luffy cut him off, his voice speaking a simple question with a deadly warning behind it.
He didn't care if Nami didn't want to draw another chart after this. He didn't care if he had all these wonderful maps of the places he's been. He does care that Nami has a choice in what she does, and that she doesn't belong to anyone.
Even when he frees her today, she won't belong to him.
Oh he'll beg her. He'll do anything she wants just so she will stay on board, because she's Nakama. Because she's his friend.
She had to sail with them. He wanted her to be a part of his adventures. He just wanted her by his side.
"And you're interfering in her business. You human scum. She's not your friend."
No! Luffy was furious now. It was like the fishman knew what to say to make him angry. He shook as he pushed the words past his clenched teeth.
"I don't care. I don't care what you say. Cause Nami is our Navigator."
"Really? You want her to navigate your pathetic little scooter for you? Ha, I guess you truly have no idea what a monumental waste of talent that would be. Look, there is no one else on the face of the planet that can draw sea charts with such accuracy and efficiency. That young lady has a gift."
A pen fell from the desk, and Luffy was surprised by what he saw on it. He reached out and brought it closer, making sure it was what he thought.
"And there really isn't anything as ultimately regrettable as wasting natural talent. Staying here and drawing up sea charts is her only chance at living up to her full potential."
"This pen...is stained with blood."
"In order for me to obtain world supremacy, her sea charts are absolutely vital." Arlong brought the sword up to the rubber boys throat. Luffy didn't flinch, didn't look up. He kept staring at the bloody pen. "She will continue drawing her sea charts for my own ambitions. And once her charts give me full knowledge of all the world's oceans, we fishman will be totally invincible and the world shall kneel before us. The first step is this island, then we'll move on to the whole east blue. You could never use her like me. She would be wasted on you!"
Luffy set the pen onto the ground, and kept his head down. His black hair covered his eyes. Slowly he reached up and put a hand on the blade right in front of his forehead.
Arlong tilted his head a bit, and then his smirk turned into a frown. He couldn't move the sword. He pressed forward, but nothing happened. Suddenly the blade shattered, and Luffy finally looked up and stared down Arlong right in the eyes.
"USE HER?" Luffy snarled. "What do you take her for?"