Disclaimer: Oda is my friend(not really). he owns One piece.

Back with another chapter. Hope you like it.

It has been a day since they set sail towards Arlong park. Nami's mood has gotten a bit better since talking to Luffy. She could only trust him for now.

"Oi Luffy, Can I ask something?" Zoro started.

"Yes?"

"How did you knock out all the members of Buggy's crew without Punching or hitting them? All I felt was a shockwave"

"Oh that, Yes I will explain it. It's called 'Haki'. It's a mysterious power." Luffy replied matter-of-factly.

"Well, that's it? It's a mysterious power? Nothing else to it?" Zoro asked.

"Oh no. It is uh…. (Luffy thinking mode active) … a uhm…." Luffy's forehead was red from thinking for a whole minute.

"Oi oi, don't stress yourself, think slowly and answer me" Zoro said, but he was very eager to know what this 'Haki' was.

"Ah, got it, Haki is a mysterious power that allows the user to use their will for various purposes. There are 3 types of 'Haki'. Observation, Armament and Conqueror's Haki." Luffy said.

"So, it cannot be used by everyone?" Zoro asked with a slight disappointment in his face.

"No, everyone can unlock both Observation and Armament Haki, it is a door-mat power in your body" Luffy replied. Nami was also listening to this conversation. If those guys are going to fight to protect her village, she should at least try not to be a liability.

"Door-mat? What does that have to do with these powers?" Nami questioned. Luffy blinked at her question. He again went into deep thinking mode. 'I remember Gramps said something about this door-mat thing…ahhh what is that' Luffy thought to himself.

"By any chance do you mean dormant?" Nami asked. Luffy's face brightened up at that. "Yes, That's exactly it, dormant"

Nami facepalmed herself. For the 100th time, she questioned her choices. Are these idiots really going to save her village?

Luffy continued his explanation, "So, Haki is basically the manifestation of your will. Observation Haki allows you dodge and evade incoming attacks. Advanced users can even see a bit into the future. Armament, it allows to coat yourself in an invisible armour to block and defend against attacks. You can also coat your weapons, Like Zoro's sword for increased damage" Luffy finished his explanation. Zoro's eyes widened at this. He smirked at the possibilities of him getting stronger.

"Uhh, can you teach them?" Zoro asked. Hoping for an 'yes'.

"Yes, I could teach you them. But I could only train you the way I trained. And it is a bit hard. It can involve a lot of pain and bruises." Zoro smirked at this. He could undergo hell lot of training, if it means he could get stronger. Nami gulped, she didn't want her smooth body to be covered in bruises, but it is only for 2 days right, once they save their village, she doesn't need to go through this training.

"Yosh, then let's start with first normal physical exercises to strengthen your body" Luffy said. They were made to do push ups and small exercises that could be done in their small boat. 'Hmm we would need a bigger boat if we are going to train harder' Luffy thought.

"I forgot to mention one thing, you cannot train your Haki before you unlock it, Haki unlocks through vigorous training or sometimes in critical life-or-death moments. "Luffy said and the other two nodded. They continued doing their physical exercises.

Two days have passed, they were nearing Conami islands. Zoro and Nami wasn't really happy with their training. It was hard, which Zoro had no problem with, but there wasn't any progress made. But Luffy assured them that they made good progress. He said it will take longer than 2 days to even make the first step of process. This relaxed Zoro. Nami on the other hand was exhausted, but also nervous about facing Arlong.

Cocoyashi village,

"Shahahaha, looks like Nami couldn't save this village" Arlong said facing the people of Cocoyashi village. Everyone was very nervous. Some were crying. They knew their death was near. Genzo picked up a huge metal stick and rushed towards Arlong to hit him, but Arlong was faster and hit Genzo in the gut which made him drop the weapon.

Arlong grabbed Genzo by throat and lifted him up. Genzo was struggling to free himself from Arlong's grip. "Shahahah, you really thought you could beat me with that?" Arlong said pointing at the metal stick. "Then, Lets start the Destruction… Or should I say liberation with killing you" he said. Some tried to run but were surrounded by fishmen.

Arlong cocked his fists back and brought it towards Genzo for a deadly blow on his chest. But before he could hit Genzo, he was hit by something very strong and flew back towards a wall and hit it. He released Genzo from his hold while he was hit. He was panting on the ground. Everyone was shocked. They didn't see anyone enter, but there was a boy, who they assumed hit Arlong. He wore a marine coat and had a well-toned body. He looked unnaturally strong for someone his age. They saw two more people approaching them, it was Nami and a green haired marine swordsman.

"Oouf, we made it in time I guess" The boy with marine coat said.

"Everyone, sorry I couldn't collect 100M in time. I could have- "Nami said with tears in her eyes, but she was interrupted by people yelling at her.

"Why did you come back?"

"You could have stayed in sea, Arlong couldn't have found you, you should have left the village and lived a good life somewhere else" They shouted. Nami was shocked to see this. She knew the villagers might know about the 100M beli deal since Arlong announced he would kill them if I hadn't brought that money. But she thought they would hate her for that.

"Ah, Villagers, don't worry, You guys will be safe. They won't be able to do anything to this village anymore." The boy said.

"Who are you? Why did you come to help us? Marines are just corrupt. What do you seek in return?" Genzo slowly stood up, but his breathing was a bit unnormal.

"Oh sorry, I am Monkey D. Luffy, Adm-…er... Captain from Marine HQ and the green haired swordsmen there is Roronoa Zoro. As for why we came to help you, that's what we do. We help and protect innocent people. I can assure you we are not corrupt in anyway and we are just here to save this village from these pirates." Luffy assured.

People gasped at the name "Roronoa Zoro". Luffy pouted slightly at this. The swordsman was more popular than him. They heard sounds of rubble falling down. They saw Arlong getting up from the wall.

"Shahaha, you really think you puny human could save this village? Fishmen are way superior than humans, we are 10 times stronger than you"

"You are not even a match for me, I could defeat you blindfolded" Luffy said smirking.

"Shahaha, you insolent brat think you can beat me? How funny. Men! Kill that boy and kill the villagers as well" He ordered the fishmen. Luffy sensed the fishmen approaching from all the sides. While they could take on the whole crew alone, they could harm villagers if they get in the way. He already requested Backup; it might take a bit longer for them to come here. So Luffy let out a controlled blast of Conqueror's Haki and knocked out the weaker fishmen, some were panting on the floor, whom Luffy assumed to be the "Officers".

There was one more fishman who was barely conscious, He called out Arlong and said something to him before he went unconscious. Arlong's face scowled. He ordered his Octopus swordsmen 'Hachi' to attack the marines. Luffy looked at Zoro, who nodded his head before pulling out swords and went to fight the swordsmen. He told Nami to fight Kuroobi. She was really nervous but it was to protect her village. So, she pulled out her staff and approached Kuroobi.

Zoro was fighting Hachi with relative ease. While the Octopus had 6 swords, He lacked skills. Nami was struggling with Kuroobi, she was defensive, barely blocking the attacks aimed at her. Luffy was just observing. Villagers were confused as to why he isn't attacking the fishman. Nami let her down on the sight of a blue-haired women which gave Kuroobi an opportunity to land a blow on Nami. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. But she never got hit. She saw Luffy holding Kuroobi's hands blocking the punch. Kuroobi was struggling to free his hand.

"Good work Nami, I could have fought this guy by myself. But you needed training for future fights. That is why I told you to fight" Luffy said. Nami was a bit confused at "Future fights" part. But she decided not to question it now.

Luffy punched Kuroobi in the gut. He fell down panting, struggling to get up. He slowly got up from the ground. "Ohh, I thought you wouldn't get up from that punch" Luffy said mockingly. He looked at Zoro who finished his fight. He smirked. Luffy's Hands turned obsidian black. He punched Kuroobi in the face which made him Fly back a bit before he became unconscious. Arlong was fuming with anger. He saw all of his crew got beat up in front of his eyes.

"You, you are dead today. How dare you hurt my crew. My crewmate said you also hurt Chew whom I sent to deliver a message. I won't let you live " Arlong said in anger.

"You hurt the villagers. I just returned the favour."

"Shahaha, it doesn't matter, I will kill you and kill all these villagers. You puny humans can't win against me. I am the strongest here. My strength is 10 times- "Before he could finish his sentence, Luffy used Soru to close up his distance and kicked Arlong in his face. He crashed into a house nearby.

"Could you stop your boasting already and fight me" Luffy said in an annoyed tone.

Arlong came out the rubbles. "Fine, you asked for it" Arlong jumped with his mouth open to bite Luffy.

"Tekkai" Luffy hardened his muscles. Arlong bit his shoulders. Luffy realised his Tekkai might not protect him from the Bite. So, he immediately applied Armament to his shoulders breaking Arlong's Teeth in the process. Arlong jumped back. But he didn't seem bothered by the breaking of his teeth. The villagers gasped as Arlong's teeth grew back.

"Shahaha, Sharks teeth easily grow back when they break"

Arlong jumped forward with his fists clenched for a punch. But Luffy dodged the punch and placed his hand on Arlong's chest. He spun Arlong backwards and crashed him on the ground. The ground vibrated on impact and Arlong spit out some blood. Luffy then proceeded to kick Arlong in his waist which pushed him away a couple of meters from Luffy was.

"How? How are you tossing me around with such ease? I am a fishman. I am supposed to be stronger than you." Arlong stuttered in anger. "I know about you Arlong, Jinbe-san talked about you before. He told you separated from them few years ago. But I didn't know you were hurting humans in the weakest sea of the world. How cowardice of you." Luffy spoke.

"Jinbe? He is a disgrace. He became a government dog to become friends with humans when we are the superior species. We are meant to dominate"

Arlong jumped and spun himself with his nose pointed towards Luffy's chest like a Bullet.

"Sharks on darts." He aimed to pierce Luffy's heart. But Luffy held his nose with Armament covered hands. Zoro was carefully observing the fight. Arlong was shocked to see Luffy stop his powerful attack. He thought it could be due to the fact that he didn't have water to reach high speeds. He tried to free himself from the grip of Luffy, but Luffy applied pressure and broke the nose. Arlong screamed in pain. Luffy punched him in the jaw sending him flying backwards.

Arlong was under severe pain. The punch on the face might have broken his jaws. He yelled at Luffy and ran towards Luffy trying to hit him with barrage of punches. But Luffy dodged them easily. He lifted his left hand up and held Arlong's fist. Luffy punched him in chest, "This is for hurting for villagers" he said. Arlong might have flew back again, But Luffy held his fest and started punching more in his chest. Each punch might have broken at least 1-2 ribs. He released Arlong's left fist. Arlong was barely standing now. "For all the sufferings you provided to Nami and this village." Luffy's hand turned obsidian black. Luffy used Soru to cover a small distance between him and Arlong to get enough momentum and Punched Arlong in his stomach. He crashed through multiple buildings before he went unconscious.

The villagers couldn't believe what they were seeing. Arlong was beaten by a Marine captain without even breaking a sweat. They were awed at the power of this young boy. They cheered at the Luffy and Zoro for protecting their village. Nami looked at the hero who saved her village with tears in her eyes. She ran towards him and hugged him. Everyone was a bit shocked to see this. But they kept silent. Luffy was happy to return the Hug.

"Chichichi, what do we have here?" Captain Nezumi approached the village. Nami broke the hug and saw the marine with hate in her eyes. That blue-haired women, named Nojiko was Nami's sister. She had told her Nezumi took her 85M from her tangerine grove. Luffy saw the expression on Nami's face.

"What happened Nami? Why do you look so angry?" Luffy asked. She told him how he took the 85M belis that she had been saving for years. And also, how he took money from Arlong to not arrest him for hurting this village. Luffy's face immediately frowned. He had an angry look on his face.

"Ohh, you are the one who beat these guys right? I can see you are a marine captain. Since these villages come under my protection, I am taking him to my base and his bounty belongs to me."

"Captain Nezumi, may I know which branch you are from?" Luffy asked him.

"I am from 16th branch. I came here to arrest Arlong and his crew"

"So, why haven't you done that all these years? Shouldn't you have arrested him when he annexed this village?" Luffy questioned. Nezumi became nervous. But he didn't show it in his expression.

"What rights do you have to question me? I do what I like to do. Since you already defeated him, there was no need for me to defeat him" Nezumi tried to reason.

"I have all the rights to question you. In fact, Captain Nezumi of 16th branch, you are hereby stripped of your title and arrested for taking money from Arlong pirates."

"Wha-What are you blabbering about? You have no rights to do that. Do you have any proof that I got 75 million belis from Arlong?" Nezumi said, sweating all over his face.

"Oh, good to know it was 75 million belis." Luffy said with a smirk. Everyone facepalmed at the captain's poor reasoning. Nezumi became furious and took out his gun. "I am going to kill you here. Then no one would know I got money from Arlong. Also, I am going to kill the villagers too"

Luffy just used Soru and closed the distance between him and Nezumi. He held the gun near the nozzle and broke it. Nezumi's eye widened at this. He was overwhelmed with fear. Luffy punched him in the face and he was unconscious. The marines handcuffed him and took him to the ship. Luffy took his Den-Den Mushi and called the HQ.

"Hello, this is Luffy."

"Hello sir, how may I help you?"

"I would like to speak to Admiral Aokiji, Is he in HQ now?"

"Yes sir, I will forward the call to him"

"Thank you"

After a minute of waiting, The Den-Den Mushi spoke again.

"Hello, is this Luffy?"

"Ah, Aokiji-San yes this is Luffy"

"So Luffy, why did you call to HQ to connect to me? You could have called me directly."

"No, I'm still a 'Captain'. I cannot call you directly." Luffy emphasised the word 'Captain'. Aokiji understood.

"So, why did you want to speak to me?"

"I came across two corrupt marines in east blue. People are losing their trust in Marines." Luffy said in a serious voice.

"Hmm... that's bad. What shall we do then?"

"Could you talk with Sengoku-san and ask if he could may be assign good marines in east blue?"

"Hmm, ok I'll see what I can do" Aokiji replied.

"Thank you, Aokiji-san," Luffy replied and ended his call.

He ordered the second-in command of 16th branch marines to arrest Arlong and his crew and take them to cell. He told them to wait till a new captain will be assigned for 16th branch.

The next two days have been full of party, Luffy ate a lot and Zoro drank a lot. The townspeople enjoyed their newfound freedom. Luffy walked towards the hill in search of Raw-Ham melon. To his disappointment he couldn't find the Raw-ham melon. But he saw Nami sitting in front of a grave. Luffy guessed it could be the lady whom Nami saw as a mother-figure based on her story. He went towards the grave.

"Hi Nami". Nami was in deep thought. The sudden sound woke her up from the thought. She looked around to see a familiar face standing.

"Hi Captain Luffy"

"Oh please. Call me Luffy. No need of formalities" Luffy smiled. Nami smiled in return and he sat beside her. "So, this is?" "This belongs to my mother, Bellemere." Nami said with a slight smile on her face. But the sadness could be seen.

"You have my condolences. Sorry I couldn't be here any sooner. "Luffy said sincerely. Nami nodded with a smile. "Thank you for helping this village. I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't met you." She said. Luffy smiled.

"I am sure you have done everything you could to protect this town. Don't feel guilty" Luffy said. Nami was shocked that he knew how she was feeling. But she felt comfortable around him. Nami nodded.

"So, you said your mother was a marine. Will you be following her footsteps?" Luffy asked. Nami looked at him surprised. "But I am... I stole from people. I hurt people" Nami said.

"No, don't worry. You did this to protect this village. You also said you only stole from pirates. And they don't come under law anyway. What is your dream? And are you willing to follow it? That's what matters" Luffy said with a smile on his face. Nami couldn't help but smile back at him.

"I want to make a map of the world. That is my dream. But..." She trailed off.

"But?"

"But how could I be on marines? I am not strong enough." She said.

"Oh, don't worry. I will protect you and make sure nothing happens. You will get stronger and help me protect people" Luffy said with determination in his eyes. Nami saw the determination on her eyes.

"Ok then, I am in your care, Captain" Nami said with a smile. Luffy Grinned widely back at her.

Luffy stood up and turned back to go to village. But before going back, "Oh, but I am not going to let you free for the thievery. I have other things planned for you" he said with a smirk. Nami was sweating all over her face. 'Other things? What could it be?' she thought.

After some time, they stocked up their boat and was waiting for Nami to come. Genzo was standing aside Luffy.

"She chose to follow her mother's footsteps. You better keep her safe. Else ill find you and kill you" Genzo threatened. Luffy just laughed. "Of course. I will never let my friends die." He spoke. Genzo smiled at this. Nojiko pulled Luffy aside and talked to him.

"So, is there anything going on between you and Nami?" She said. Luffy just blinked.

"Oh. I guess you don't know anything then." She continued. Luffy tilted his face and spoke "What do I not know?"

"Hmm... nothing. you better keep my sister safe. "she said. "Of course," he said with a smile. She nodded and smiled back. Luffy and Zoro boarded the boat. Nami shouted to set sail and they did the same. She ran past many villagers who were yelling at her for not saying goodbyes. She jumped towards the boat and landed on it. She then lifted her shirt to reveal lot of purses and wallets which fell down. Villagers were surprised. They checked their pockets to see their wallets missing.

"Oi, you thief" Everyone shouted, but they had smile on their faces. She waved bye at them.

"So, where do we go next Luffy?" She asked.

"What is the nearest island?"

"Gecko islands"

"Ok then, Lets go to Gecko islands" Luffy shouted.

"You don't have to shout for that idiot" Nami yelled back.

"Shishishi, sorry. Oh, by the way Nami"

"Yes?"

"What did you do with that 85 million?" Luffy asked.

"Oh that, I left in village for the villagers to use" She replied.

"Ohh? I didn't think you would give you money to others. What a surprise" Luffy said. Zoro chuckled at this. Nami got angry "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?" She yelled with shark teeth. He just laughed at her. Nami couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as well.

"Gecko islands. Let's goo!"

Thank you all for the reviews and kind words. I am weak at writing fighting scenes. Ill try to improve it as much as i can. Please do leave a review if you like this story.