A/N: Please enjoy this, the next chapter of this story. *Bows*
I do not own One Piece. If One Piece were a turkey, however, I would ask for this particular cut of dark meat. Repeatedly. I, like Luffy, appreciate meat.
Careening through the air, clinging to one of Baratie's loaned supply boats, Sanji found himself in a reflective mood.
He'd been on his way to meet up with the rest of his new crew mates. Lunch got interrupted by a modest sea monster of all things (Sanji maintained his assertion that it was a hippo, no matter how many times Luffy insisted 'cow'.) There'd been a minor miscommunication- the hippo mistook Sanji for food.
The cook cleared things right up. With a swift application of his heel to the neck.
Following a peaceful meal, Sanji's new captain got it into his head to hitch the boat up to the damn beast. Through some bizarre twist of luck, it actually worked.
On the plus side, they got going pretty shitty fast, and the island came into view hours ahead of schedule.
Conversely, Sanji may have kicked the shitty hippo a bit too hard. He veered off course at the last second and, apparently, forgot how to brake. The hippo, by way of crashing into the shoreline, eventually stopped.
The boat, and consequently its three occupants, did not. They went flying, and their tether to the hippo did not survive to ground them.
At least Luffy enjoyed himself. Yosaku looked decidedly less enthused. For his part, Sanji resigned himself to the loss of yet another supply boat, though at least he wouldn't be held accountable for that anymore.
The flight ended as quickly as it started, though the ride didn't end when the boat landed. Gravity simply handed them over to momentum for a while. They plowed through at least one crop field, smashed past several trees, then
"Oi, Zoro!"
"What the F"
Crash!
The denouement came as they collided with Luffy's swordsman, evidently sturdier than all trees they'd passed.
"What the hell are you idiots doing?!"
Sanji ignored Zoro's shouting. He glanced at Yosaku, sticking ass up out of the wreckage which had once been the borrowed boat.
"You alive?" Sanji asked.
"Damn, is my timing on point or what?" He heard Usopp murmur. He assumed he meant that he'd avoided the collision that Zoro had suffered.
"What do you mean, Zoro?" Luffy asked, patting dust off his vest and shorts. "We came to get you guys. Haven't you found Nami yet?"
"The situation's a bit more complicated than we thought, Captain." Usopp said. Sanji, who remembered the odd chill he'd felt with just a stare from the sniper, eyed him warily. The cook wouldn't admit it, but the kid had actually been frightening.
"Hey, you got a cook!"
Sanji tensed as Usopp clapped him across the back.
"Welcome aboard, Sanji!"
The blonde cook sighed. He glanced around. His new crew mates consisted of a moody tengu, an uncouth marimo, and a hyperactive battleship disguised as a rubber man.
'Why did I sign onto this crew again?'
"You came to get who, Luffy?"
Sanji swooned at Nami's glorious visage, the brown-eyed beauty regarding them from up the road.
"Mellorine~!"
Nami adopted her persona with the form of someone who possessed years of practice. Arms crossed, weapon held in one hand, posture closed off, expression cold and detached to the point of exasperated boredom- an unrepentant, icy demeanor, the antithesis of the warm, easily familiar straw hatted boy across from her.
Putting on her 'backstabber' act hurt. Of course, necessity often did.
"What exactly are you doing here?" She asked, having gotten their attention.
"Whaddaya mean?" Luffy asked, righting his hat on his head. "We came to get you, Nami! You're our nakama!"
She scoffed.
"How sad."
"Nami-san~!" Sanji crooned, waving his arms. "Don't you remember me? I've come for you~!"
"Be quiet, you lovesick mutt," Zoro grunted. "Things are tedious enough. You'll just make them more complicated."
"So what?" Sanji shot back. "Love and passion improve any story!"
Nami ignored their bickering, turning to Usopp.
"You've only been here a few hours, and you've already made trouble," she said, grip tight on her staff. "Word's already spread about a long-nose stranger attacking Arlong. One of his officers is scouring the island for you right now." She huffed. "You're lucky he hasn't found you yet."
"Is that right?" Usopp asked with an odd little grin. He rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, yeah, I guess I must be lucky."
Nami narrowed her eyes at him. Did he think she was kidding?
"Do you not understand the consequences here?" She asked, pressing a little harder with her tone. "You may be strong, but you can't match up against a real monster. Arlong won't just sit idly after an attack on his person."
"Hey," Luffy said, turning to the sniper. "Usopp, was there a fight? Why'd you attack that guy?"
"'Errands got interrupted' he said." Zoro grumbled, scowling at the marksman.
"He was going to kill Genzo-san," Usopp said, defending himself. "He helped us get a doctor for Zoro. What was I supposed to do?"
Nami could, begrudgingly, be thankful for that.
"Huh?" Luffy said, tilting his head in confusion. "Doctor? Why did Zoro need a doctor? Is he sick?"
"… You're joking, right?" Sanji asked. The cook broke off his doe-eyed gaze at Nami to level an incredulous look at Luffy.
Nami clenched her jaw. None of them were taking the situation seriously. She had to get them to leave, before they clashed with Arlong's crew.
She resented them for forcing her hand.
'I'm so close to being free,' she lamented. 'Just a little longer, and I could have even greeted them happily.'
She didn't allow herself to dwell on the what-ifs.
"Whatever," she said, raising her voice and taking on a dismissive tone. "I told you when we met that our partnership was a means to an end. I've gotten what I needed from you, so our association is done! Arlong will kill you if you stay, so take your ship, find a new navigator and chase your foolish dreams!"
"Why?"
Nami almost broke character. Luffy's simple, earnest personality had that infuriating affect on her.
"Why would we leave? You're our navigator, Nami."
He spoke matter-of-factly, as though he couldn't be disputed.
"Nami," Usopp said. "If something's keeping you here, why not let us help?"
All of them, with their damn kindness- spitting in the face of all she'd known about pirates.
"It's got something to do with the fishmen, doesn't it?" Zoro asked in his unique way, where a question was not a question.
Intuitive when she wanted them to just keep being idiots and take what she said at face value.
"I'll admit I don't understand the situation," Sanji said. For once, his voice held no extra lilt or flirtation. "But I'd gladly stake my life in a duel for a lady's sake."
They didn't even know her.
Steeling her resolve, Nami let out a put-upon sigh.
"I. Am. Not. Your nakama." She said slowly, each word deliberate. "Goodbye."
Luffy stared at her for a moment, his face blank.
Without warning, he fell backward to the dirt.
"Luffy?" Zoro prompted, a little surprised.
"G'night."
Nami went stiff. The bounty hunter pair, who she honestly hadn't noticed before, threw themselves into the air, yelling.
"What? 'Good night'? Here? Now?!"
"The fishmen don't scare me," Luffy said. He laced his arms behind his head. "I don't feel like leaving, so I'm gonna get a bit of shuteye now."
"Fine!" Nami screamed. She hit her limit. She didn't know how to be any clearer, and her patience had run dry. Nothing could get through his thick rubber skull. "Die if you want!"
She pivoted on her heel and stormed off.
Arlong leapt out of the courtyard pool back onto dry land. He stretched as he stood at his full height, letting the ocean water run down his skin.
"As expected of Arlong-sama!"
The fishman captain grinned. He'd been angry, prowling the courtyard since the upstart human attacked him Cocoyashi. Chew still hadn't returned, and Arlong had no way of venting his fury.
Until a strange marine vessel entered his waters. One that wasn't in on a cut of his monthly tributes. Under normal circumstances, he'd offer the marine captain a parlay and unmolested passage, for the right price. He had not felt quite so charitable to a breach of his territory at the time.
Personally taking apart the marine ship and leaving its crew to sink or swim had been incredibly cathartic. The natural order of the world had been reasserted, with fishmen over humans. Thus, until Chew got back, the sawtooth shark would have been satisfied making preparations for the feast that evening.
"Arlong-sama."
As he lounged on his throne, though, Kuroobi called his attention to something.
"I've found something that explains the woman's bid to buy Cocoyashi."
Arlong inclined his head with a low hum. He'd known of his officer's suspicions about Nami. The shark himself didn't share Kuroobi's qualms- he had no reason to fear betrayal or any backstabbing from the mapmaker. He owned the village she held dear, after all, along with the lives of everyone in it.
"A treasure map," Kuroobi said, indicating on one of Nami's charts. "It marks a spot in the village."
Had Arlong still been seething as he had an hour prior, he might have dealt with the situation himself.
He smiled.
"Send out a call to Captain Nezumi of Marine Base 16."
Nojiko watched Nami sleep across from her at the table. Her sister pillowed her head on one arm, and Nojiko had given her a blanket after she dozed off.
She idly peeled a tangerine, thoughts occupied as she wondered what to do.
After seeing the scene in Gosa, she'd wandered back to the house. The initial shock had worn off, though the impact of what she'd seen hadn't diminished much, if at all. Calling to mind Chew's battered form still gave her a chill. She didn't have any sympathy for the fishman officer, yet she couldn't figure out what the consequences would be.
More than that, she didn't quite know how to react.
She went back over what Chabo told her. Usopp- the young man who'd come with Roronoa Zoro looking for her sister, and a pirate of all things- had beaten Chew easily, the boy had said. Nojiko hadn't noticed any injuries on his person during their brief exchange, either.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Nami's return to the house. Her sister made her presence known by smashing one of the window panes and generally tossing around furniture.
("… I'm just resting."
"Did the definition of 'rest' change to mean 'tantrum' recently?")
Honestly, Nojiko had been glad Nami came to the house. On the list of people to consult, she ranked first. Before all else, Nojiko was an older sister, though. Nami believed she had no one else to talk to, since she thought the villagers still hadn't forgiven her for her 'betrayal' after Belle-mére's death.
("A couple guys came here looking for you earlier."
"…?"
"Is this about them?")
Nojiko prompted her gently, and before long Nami spilled it all out. She still didn't name her obvious internal conflict, not that Nojiko expected any different. She understood pretty well regardless.
"Nakama, huh?"
Nami loathed that word. Arlong called her his 'nakama', and Nami only had him for reference. Nojiko didn't blame her for feeling confused by these apparently genuine, kind people who did the same.
"What to do?" Nojiko murmured.
Ultimately, she didn't share the news of Chew's defeat with Nami. Her little sister had been stressed enough, and Nojiko wasn't sure it would have changed her desire for 'those idiots' to leave. Were circumstances different, Nojiko would have backed her up in a second to make that happen.
"What to do?" She asked again.
Except she found herself in turmoil. The older sister in her- the one who gave Nami all the support she could- tangled with another aspect of that same older sister. That aspect spoke with a small voice, one that coincided with a woman who, perhaps selfishly, also wanted to be free, and asked
'Hasn't she done enough?'
Nojiko stood from the table, irritated by the indecision. She quickly rinsed off her hands and left the house, still uncertain of her choice.
"So," Sanji drawled. "Is this normal?"
Usopp glanced the cook's way. Sanji held a hand out in gesture toward Luffy, still sprawled out in the road. The sniper sat under a tree beside the chef, while Zoro lounged nearby in the grass.
"Which part?" Usopp asked. "Doing what he wants, the stubbornness, or the baseless confidence?"
"Any of it," Sanji said. "All of it."
"Yeah, it's pretty typical," Usopp replied. "Why? You having second thoughts?"
"Eh," Sanji said with a crooked smile. "He sure as shit isn't boring."
Usopp let out a bark of laughter. Even Zoro smirked.
"YOU'RE TOO LAX!" Yosaku shouted.
"Usopp-aniki and Zoro-aniki are strong," Johnny conceded. Usopp wasn't quite sure when the other bounty hunter showed up- maybe he'd heard Luffy's arrival? "And Luffy-aniki's formidable, but Arlong is in a different class! He's a real Grand Line pirate, not a pretender like Krieg!"
"Meh." Usopp shrugged.
Sanji blew out a slow stream of smoke.
Zoro yawned.
"How can you all be so calm?!" The bounty hunters demanded in unison.
Simultaneously, the three Straw Hats lazily pointed at their dozing captain. Luffy snored.
"If you don't wanna be here, nothing's keeping you," Zoro said, blunt though not judgmental. "This is our business."
Despite all their obvious reservations, the two swordsmen waffled about actually leaving.
"Hey."
Usopp looked up as conversation stalled. Nojiko, a bit short of breath, glanced between them all before settling her gaze on him.
"Ah, young maiden," Sanji snapped to his feet in a second, already fawning over her. "Might you allow me your name?"
"Oh," she said, too focused to be put off by the obvious flirt. "I'm Nojiko, Nami's step sister."
"Oh, yes, naturally. No wonder you're gorgeous."
"Did something happen?" Usopp asked, standing. Zoro watched from his spot on the ground. The sniper noted, a bit smugly, that Luffy had stopped snoring.
He'd suspected his captain hadn't really fallen into a deep sleep.
"You're Usopp," she said, staring at him. "Are you the one who beat Chew?"
"Oh," he said, a bit sheepishly. "You saw that?"
"The aftermath, at least," she replied, her gaze somewhat disbelieving. "I got a pretty vivid account of the fight, though."
"Errands my ass," Zoro grumbled. The swordsman rose. He held his scabbard as though to jab Usopp's head with it. "Ran off to have fun while I got my damn stitches redone."
"What?" Luffy asked, sitting upright. He blinked a couple times. "Usopp did what now?"
"I wasn't playing," Usopp said sharply, his glower more than a match for Zoro's. "He threatened nakama. I couldn't let that stand."
A beat passed. Zoro huffed, backing off.
"Could've explained the circumstances."
"Oh," Luffy said, nodding. "I see."
"Can't argue you there." Sanji agreed.
"No wonder she didn't know what to make of you." Nojiko muttered, looking between the four of them.
"Hm?" Usopp asked.
"Never mind," she said, shaking her head a little. "Look, my sister has her reasons for staying here. I know you all came here for her."
"I'd be happy with you~!" Sanji said.
"Not now." Usopp admonished, laying a hand on the cook's shoulder, keeping him grounded.
Nojiko bit her lip, looking indecisive a moment before she took a deep breath.
"If I asked, though," she said, pausing to lick her lips. "Could you all actually fight them- the fishmen?"
Usopp blinked. Twice. In all the hypotheticals he'd concocted in his head, being outright asked by one of the residents of Cocoyashi, let alone Nami's sister, hadn't crossed his mind.
Nojiko looked just a mite hopeful, and somewhat conflicted over asking at all.
Usopp nodded, since none of his crew mates jumped at the chance to answer.
Nojiko's eyes sparked and she took a step forward, smiling a little.
"Will you?"
Sanji spun right out of Usopp's grip with a giddy grin.
"For you, anything!"
"No." Usopp said flatly.
The sniper ducked under a roundhouse kick that, even without Haki, was entirely predictable.
"How dare you refuse such a lovely lady's request?!" Sanji shouted.
"Does your brain function normally?!" Zoro yelled back.
"Why not?" Nojiko asked, frowning. "You could win, couldn't you?"
Usopp shrugged.
"If I can do that to one of Arlong's officers, then yeah, we could win," he said. The sniper missed the odd look Sanji gave him, and the way Zoro narrowed his eyes. "That's not the point, though. It's not that we won't fight"
"Right now, we wouldn't be helping her if we did." Luffy said matter-of-factly.
Usopp smiled. Even without context that others would deem necessary, Luffy had a special talent for cutting to the root of any issue. Sanji cooled down, tracking their captain's thinking, though he didn't look entirely pleased. Zoro lowered his scabbard.
The sniper elaborated for Nojiko, who wore a face of bemusement.
"Whether or not we know all the details," he said, careful with his phrasing to skirt around the truth again. "Nami's clearly fighting a battle she considers entirely her own." He looked Nojiko square in the eye. "She's your sister- you tell me, would she resent us for getting involved against her wishes?"
In all honesty, it killed Usopp to wait, knowing that each second Nami served Arlong hurt her. He would've loved to storm the gates and tear apart the monsters who haunted her nightmares, who made her slave away, slowly murdering her dream.
If they did that, though, they'd be little better than a parent dismissing creatures under the mattress, robbing her of the agency to seek help herself. Usopp knew intimately the dangers of resentment and self-loathing. He'd nearly cut his ties with his nakama irreparably, all because his feelings of inadequacy next to his prodigious crew mates was left unchecked.
"I'm leaving this crew!"
Usopp shivered. He would've done all he could, of course, to banish such feelings from Nami's mind, but just imagining the potential consequences of her going through anything like he did terrified him. Her resentment wouldn't manifest quite the same way, though if she ever tried to tackle too much on her own, if she didn't trust them implicitly…
He couldn't risk that. It'd be the same as condemning Nami to death himself.
Nojiko looked between them slowly. She sighed with a small, gracious smile.
"You know her well," she said quietly. "You really are her friends, aren't you?"
"She's nakama." Usopp said plainly.
"All right," she said, hands on her hips. "If you're sticking around anyway, at least let me explain things to you. I doubt she's going to offer up her history."
"Nah," Luffy said, standing up. "I don't care about her past. I'll take a walk instead."
In contrast to his 'first round', Nojiko wasn't all that surprised or put off by Luffy's refusal to hear Nami's history from someone else. The sniper himself plopped down on the ground beside Zoro, who lounged again, swiftly dozing.
He'd heard it all before- a young girl witnessed her adoptive mother's murder, all because she could only afford 'tribute' for her two daughters and not herself. For eight years after that, the same girl sold her talent in cartography to her mother's killers, and made a deal to buy back the village where she'd been raised, at the price of one hundred million beri.
Regardless, listening a second time was the least he could do.
Nami smiled wanly at the map on the table. A brief nap had helped her cool off after dealing with the rubber idiot's stupid (lovable) crew.
She lay down the first map she'd drawn for Belle-mére's inspection all those years ago, little more than a rough sketch by her current standards. She stood and stretched, taking in the sky as she walked out of the house.
She would cast off one more time, and when she got back…
"One more," she whispered, scarcely believing that the end was in sight. "Just one last job!"
The sound of several heavy footsteps caught her attention. Genzo approached the house, leading a group of marines. Their captain, a man with whiskers like a rat and a face like a weasel, smiled at her and stepped forward.
"I take it," he said. "You're Nami, the infamous thief?"
Nami retained her cool, unflappable persona. They'd set foot on Arlong's turf, after all.
"I didn't know I'd achieved infamy."
She had nothing to worry about.
Except then, Nezumi (so named was the bastard rat) ordered his men to search the house and take apart her property.
They'd come after her treasure. 'Requisition', he called it, he actually had the nerve. All the loot she'd taken off pirates over the years, with nothing but her own sweat and blood. The money she needed to save her village.
"Back off!" She yelled. She clocked one soldier who made the mistake of stepping into her range. She sent another to the ground with a blow to his back.
On instinct, she'd pulled out her Climatact instead of her staff. Knowing its capabilities, she felt more comfortable with it in hand.
"Hyik hyik hyik!"
The bastard rat just laughed, and his men kept searching.
"You can't!" She protested, grasping for any argument she could make.
"That girl is going to save Cocoyashi village with that money! You keep your hands off it, you corrupt rodent!"
Genzo- he knew. The whole village had known the whole time. They had only pretended- acted like her betrayal still stung, like they didn't know her reasons.
They didn't want to pressure her with their hope.
Nami felt dizzy.
One of the rat's men dared to enter Belle-mére's tangerine grove.
"Do not," Nami screamed, with a hard strike to the windpipe. "Put your filthy hands on her tangerines!"
"Is this what's become of the Marines?!"
Nojiko, appearing like the vengeful older sister she was, fixed Nezumi with a glower fit for a Sea King.
"You're a thrice-damned disgrace! Our mother would be sick at you, going after a thief when a tyrannical pirate has our entire island in a chokehold! If you don't want to die, get the hell out of here!"
"Hyik hyik hyik! Who's going to stop me? Arlong? Unlikely."
Nami froze.
'No…'
"What's the hold up? It's one hundred million beri! It can't possibly be hard to find!"
Her blood ran cold.
"He sent you." She murmured. The realization chilled her, and fury soon followed, smoldering behind her breast.
Nami's world spun. Nojiko and Genzo cussed out Nezumi. The rat ordered his men to open fire on them. Six cocked their rifles.
Nami clutched her weapon, the hours she'd spent practicing flashing through her mind. She changed the configuration, one piece crosswise to the 'cool ball' section, took aim, and threw.
Cyclone Tempo!
Both components released their respective air bubbles- one hot, one cool- as they spun, resulting in an explosive wind. The two perpendicular pieces struck every soldier across the face and knocked them off their feet.
Nezumi choked, no longer laughing.
"Wha"
"Get." Nami ground out through clenched teeth. She punctuated each word with a hard blow of her Climatact to Nezumi's legs, hands and face. "Off. Of. My. PROPERTY!"
The weasel, sufficiently cowed, scrambled to his feet and fled. With a venomous glower from Nami, his men soon followed.
The cartographer slumped, still brittle with sudden, suffocating rage.
"Nami," Nojiko said, sidling close to her. "Are you all right?"
"He was never going to honor his word," Genzo spat bitterly. "They'll just come back when it's unguarded."
'Arlong!'
Nami broke into a dead sprint, deaf to either of them calling for her. She beat her abuse into the dirt path until she reached Arlong Park.
"You want me to free your village? Well, all right! I'll make you a deal. Bring me one hundred million beri, and I'll set your village and all the villagers free. No matter how long it takes, I'll keep my promise!"
"Arlong!" She roared, advancing on the fishman captain's throne.
"Hm? My precious cartographer, what has you so upset?"
He was mocking her.
She grabbed his tropical shirt, fisting the material and yanking at his bulky frame. He barely leaned forward.
"You lied to me! You swore you'd sooner die than go back on your word!"
"Lied? Now when did I do that?"
"Don't bullshit me!" She yelled. "You"
Arlong clapped a huge, webbed hand over her mouth, smiling at her maliciously.
"Tell me," he said. "How and when exactly did I break my promise?"
Nami's eyes burned. He called it 'unfortunate', what had happened to her. His crew laughed.
She tore herself away, swiping at her face. She ran desperately for Cocoyashi.
'Please,' she begged. 'Don't throw your lives away!'
"We endured because we knew Nami was fighting for our sake! But if this is all that comes of it, I'm not gonna spend my life under that monster's rule, constantly afraid for the lives of my neighbors and friends!" Genzo shouted, sword in hand. "Not for one more second!"
Her neighbors had riled themselves up into a mob. They planned to storm Arlong Park.
A suicide mission.
"Everyone, wait!"
Nami cried out, panting. She forced herself to stand straight. She put on her best, most assuring façade.
"It's not hopeless," she said, trying to change her harried breathing into wry laughter. "I can figure out a way to keep the money safe! I'm only one job short! Just wait a little longer and"
"Nami."
Genzo hugged her. He held her head against his shoulder.
She saw the others, watching her with sadness, and gratitude, and forgiveness. She saw everything she thought she'd been denied for eight years.
"You've been through enough," Genzo said softly into her ear. "We can't sit idly and watch you suffer any more. The best thing you can do now is leave. Set sail, Nami, and escape this place. You've got dreams to fulfill."
"No!"
Nami pushed out of his gentle grasp, hoisting a dagger between her and the villagers.
"You can't beat them," she said. "You'll be killed!"
Genzo stepped forward. He took the dagger into his hand by the blade. Even as it cut into his palm and fingers, his face maintained a resigned determination.
"We know."
Nami shivered. She didn't know what else to do.
"Now stand aside, Nami!"
They left her, alone in the middle of the road. The knife fell to the ground, forgotten.
Nami stared, gaze horrified and vacant.
How did it all fall apart?
She'd been so close- to saving the village, saving her neighbors- how?
Only minutes prior she'd been preparing for the last con. She could've been free.
Why?
Instead, everyone she loved left, marching off to die.
Eight years… for nothing.
Nami dropped to her knees.
'Shahahahaha!'
His laughter echoed in her mind- permeating, grating, infesting her mind. She clenched her jaw, her breathing drew short, hissing through her teeth. She craned her neck, clutching at his mark on her left shoulder. She clawed at it, nails digging into her skin.
"Arlong…!" She growled.
With an angry, wet, frenzied gasp, she snatched up the dagger.
"Arlong!"
She stabbed into the hated mark.
Shik.
"Arlong!"
She plunged the knife in again.
Shik.
"Arlong!"
And again.
Shik.
"ARLONG!"
She cursed his name, his stranglehold on her, his very existence.
Shik.
"AR-!"
Whap.
Nami took a moment before she even realized someone had caught her wrist. She peeked over her uninjured shoulder, sniffling.
Her gaze met a blank expression shadowed by a straw hat.
"Luffy…" She whispered.
She surrendered her grasp on the knife. Luffy's grip slackened and released her. She hung her head.
"What do you want?"
'Why are you still here?'
"You don't know anything about what's been happening here for the past eight years."
'Why do you care so much?'
"Nope," he conceded, in a tone as blank as his face. "I don't know anything."
"I told you to leave, didn't I?!"
She dug her fingers into the dirt.
"Yeah," he said. "You did."
She screamed at him.
"Go away!"
She flung dust back at him.
"Go on, leave!"
'Please.'
"Go away!"
'I don't want you anywhere near him!'
"Go away!"
'Get as far away from here as you can!'
"Go away…"
'Please, let something go right!'
"Go away!"
Her voice cracked, and she shuddered.
'Anything…'
"Go… away."
The dam broke. Nami pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that wracked her chest. Each breath came in short, hissing stutters. She cried, and for the first time in eight years, someone witnessed her tears.
"Luffy," she said on a damp exhale. She looked back up at the boy's expression, set in stone. "Help me."
He didn't say a word. She couldn't see his eyes under the brim of his hat.
Slowly, he reached up and palmed his precious treasure. He lifted it off his head.
A gentle, reassuring weight settled on her head, and straw filled her vision. She blinked reflexively, tilting her head back to look up.
Luffy paced back up the road. He stopped, threw his arms out, and drew in a deep breath.
"DAMN RIGHT!"
His declaration resounded across the coast. Nami's lip trembled. She pinched his straw hat between her fingers.
"Luffy…"
He set off again in earnest. She noticed three other figures in the road. One sat cross legged on the ground, arms folded, head bowed. Another held a white sheath against his shoulder, seated on a round bench. And one in a black suit stood smoking a cigarette between them.
"We're going." Luffy announced shortly.
As one, a pair of goggles snapped into place, a sword shifted in its scabbard, and a cigarette smoldered.
"Roger."
"Why are you in the way, Nojiko?!"
Nojiko met Genzo's glare evenly. She blocked the gate to Arlong Park to the best of her ability, given her fairly small stature. On either side of her, one of the two other swordsmen she'd seen with Luffy's crew stood, weapons out. They hadn't said anything, and seemed reluctant to meet her eyes, though she was grateful to them nonetheless.
"Listen," she said, projecting her voice. "I know exactly what you're all feeling. I'm just as angry as you are."
"Then let us through!"
"There's no reason to throw away your lives, though!" Nojiko pressed on, refusing to be cowed.
"We all know we can't win," Genzo shot back. "But what would you have us do? Continue living in misery and fear?"
"No," she retorted. "I'm asking you, all of you, to make one last gamble with me."
Genzo scoffed.
"With what? What's left for us to stake?!"
Nojiko didn't answer right away. She'd watched Genzo leave the house in a rage. She'd run off like her sister, with much the same goal in mind.
She made an appeal to the Straw Hats to take action.
("Did Nami ask for us?"
"You know how she is! She's already doing everything she can! She doesn't have anything left except you!"
"She has a choice."
"Why?! What kind of choice is this?!"
"Hers."
"But"
"Nami's strong enough to fight battles herself. She needs to be brave enough to trust us to fight with her."
"…"
"Just leave your sister to Luffy. He'll get through to her. It's a talent of his. Besides, someone's going to have to stop your neighbors.")
"Oi."
A voice cut through the mob's angry buzzing, and a curious quiet settled over the crowd. Something in the tone commanded attention, and they all turned to look down the road.
"Move."
Four men walked in formation toward the gate beyond the villagers. They marched, unhurried, deliberately and with clear intent and purpose. Though they were young men, none of the villagers could deny the fierce visage they cut. Whether consciously or not, the crowd parted.
Nojiko smiled, relieved.
"Nami's crew."
"Aniki."
Usopp glanced sidelong at Johnny and Yosaku. The two bounty hunters approached Zoro as they moved through the crowd.
"This is not our fight," Johnny said. "We were moved by Nami-aneki's story."
"But against Arlong, there's not much we can do," Yosaku said. "Please let us show our support this way."
They each held out their blades to Zoro, hilt-first. The santoryuu practitioner nodded, and accepted the offering.
"Thanks."
Ahead of them, Nojiko stepped aside. Usopp stood with his two crew mates as Luffy continued toward the stone gate.
BAM!
One fist-shaped crater bore into the stone.
WHAM!
A twin joined the first.
Luffy reared his arm back and snapped it forward.
The stone gate went flying over the courtyard in pieces.
Hot damn Usopp's captain was awesome.
"What the hell?"
Luffy, fist clenched, stood at his full height, gaze piercing.
"Which one is Arlong?"
Said fishman remained in his reclined throne, though he'd sat up a bit at the commotion.
"That'd be me."
"I'm Luffy."
Usopp's captain plodded into the stronghold, outwardly calm and unruffled.
"That a fact?" Arlong snarked. "And Luffy is…?"
"A pirate."
Two unlucky bastards made the grave mistake of obstructing Luffy's warpath.
"Outta my way."
Crack!
They didn't stay there for long.
Arlong sat up a little straighter, actively frowning.
"And," he said, showing his teeth. "What business brings you here, pirate?"
In lieu of an answer, Luffy shot forward and smashed his fist into Arlong's face. The shark fishman, nearly twice Luffy's size, went tumbling and crashed into the opposite wall of the courtyard.
"You," Luffy growled. "Made our navigator cry!"
Usopp stepped into Luffy's wake with Sanji and Zoro. The cronies let out a battle cry and made to charge.
"WAIT."
Arlong's voice made them freeze.
Usopp noticed a strong, malicious pressure aimed his way. He looked to find the shark's almost feral eye boring into him.
"You," Arlong said, tone low and filled with menace. "I sent Chew after you. Gone this long, you should be a corpse. Where"
"Oh, that lips guy?" Usopp asked idly. "I set him on fire and smashed him through a building." The sniper tapped a finger on his chin. "I'd wager the fire's gone out by now, not that I was in the mood to check at the time."
A weighted silence followed for a solid three seconds.
"What?" Usopp asked.
"You're scary when you wanna be." Zoro said. His expression didn't match up with his words at all. He grinned, and if anything, looked approving.
"I really don't wanna hear that from you." Usopp retorted.
"Nyu!" Hachi cried, putting his hand around his elongated lips. "You'll pay for attacking us, damn humans! Moomoo!"
He belted out a sound like a trumpet from his mouth.
Usopp glanced at Luffy. His captain steamed with fury. He needed a way to keep Luffy from sticking himself in concrete and getting tossed into the ocean this round.
'Aha!'
Struck by a stroke of inspiration, Usopp adopted a curious, intrigued expression. He rubbed his chin, eyeing the swell of water in the pool.
"Oh yeah," he said. "There was a lot of damage in Gosa village that looked like a sea monster's work."
The water surface erupted, and gave way to a huge sea cow that towered almost as high as Arlong's mansion.
"Hey, Zoro," Usopp said, tapping the swordsman's shoulder. "What say we make this a little contest? We'll compare who had the most takedowns once we ship off again."
Zoro's ever-present scowl softened in thought, and he gave the sniper a crooked grin.
"I'm game."
"Do you morons have any sense of atmosphere?" Sanji asked.
In the background, Hachi gave a confused 'Nyu?' at the throbbing lump on Moomoo's head. The sea cow shivered once he caught sight of Luffy, who looked entirely unimpressed.
"I guess that means we won't include you." Usopp said, sighing sadly.
"I get it," Zoro said calmly. "You don't think you can keep up with us. That's fine. It's good to know your limits."
"The hell did you just say to me?" Sanji shot back, upper lip curling in a snarl.
Moomoo sank back into the pool, seeking retreat from Luffy. Arlong's voice froze the modest sea monster, and with the fear of Kami in him, Moomoo turned back with a roar to attack.
"All right," Usopp said cheerily, even as the small fry pirates rushed to coordinate with their pet monster's attack. "I'll kick things off!"
The sniper pulled out his slingshot.
"Hey!" His crew mates protested. Luffy, oblivious to Usopp's plan, blew steam out his nostrils and pounded his fists together.
Certain Kill: Habanero Pepper Star!
Usopp fired, effectively distracting Luffy from his hare-brained scheme. The ballistic spice, shot in triplicate for maximum potency, flew into Moomoo's mouth. The sea cow's body seized, and he wept. A pillar of fire blasted out of his maw, dangerously close to the mansion.
Sanji dashed forward, kicking off the concrete to launch himself into the air. Zoro matched the cook's stride, his katana in his mouth and a borrowed blade in each hand.
Collier-
Tora-
Moomoo's tongue lolled out of his mouth as a devastating heel-kick struck his neck. On his stomach, dual, deep lacerations sliced open.
Shoot!
Gari!
Cut, beaten and abused, the sea cow heaved a loud groan, then fell backwards. He crashed down onto the archways leading into the pool from the channel and lay floating among the resulting debris.
"Che," Sanji huffed, taking a drag off his cigarette. "That's one for each of us."
"You can't share takedowns," Zoro said slowly, as though speaking to a child. "Otherwise it'd be the same as ending the contest at zero for everyone."
"Huh?" Sanji asked testily, encroaching into Zoro's space. "What kind of math does that addled brain of yours use, marimo?"
"Being tied is the same as having a score of zero," Zoro said simply. "Dumbass. You can take credit for that cow if you want- you probably need a handicap."
Usopp snickered. His plan worked better than he'd expected. He remembered, of course, the dysfunctional, almost grossly competitive relationship his two nakama had shared. He couldn't have been certain it would manifest quite the same way, or quite as early.
'Lucky~!'
He decided to throw one more comment to stoke the fire before they got down to business.
"Technically, you're both behind me," Usopp said. "I took down one of their officers and five of their small fish."
"What?!"
The cronies, evidently over the shock of seeing their hidden weapon so readily dispatched, resumed their charge.
"Dirty humans!"
Thwack!
Slash!
Bonk!
A sword, a leg and a boomerang returned to rest, leaving a slew of unconscious pirates behind.
"Luffy."
Zoro traded a significant glance with his captain as he cut down another insignificant guppy. The rubber man understood.
"Okay!" Luffy said. He rushed forward without a care for the crowd lunging at him. "I'll let you guys handle this!"
"Nyu!"
An octopus fishman with spiny coral-looking hair brandished a sword in each of his six hands. He jumped into Luffy's path toward Arlong.
"I'll chop you to pieces!"
Clang.
Zoro caught two of the six with each of his three swords.
"Sorry," he said, grinning around Wado. "You guys aren't setting the terms around here anymore."
Zoro flexed, and pushed the octopus back. Luffy plowed ahead, his arm stretching backward.
Gomu Gomu no-
"We are!"
Bullet!
"You!"
Sanji curb-stomped another one of the loudmouth shrimps and looked around. A bulky ray fishman, clad in some kind of martial arts gi, had set his sights on Usopp. The sniper was occupied, firing off shots in a blur of motion, swapping out his slingshot with his boomerang, and
'Where the shitty hell does he keep that hammer?'
"How dare you raise your hand against Chew," the kung-fu ray raised a fist. Like most of his comrades, he stood several feet taller than any of Luffy's crew. "I'll send you to Davy Jones personally!"
Wham!
Sanji's flying kick met one of the fins that adorned the ray fishman's forearms.
"Kuroobi!"
"I apologize for my friend," Sanji said dryly. He tapped the hot ash off his cigarette and sized up his opponent. Compared to the small fry, he'd at least be somewhat entertaining. "He made the rookie mistake of letting the fish sit in the fryer for too long."
Sanji scuffed the concrete with the toe of his shoe.
"Don't you worry," he said, smirking. "I'm a professional chef. I know how to prepare and serve up some shitty good seafood."
Usopp paused at a break in the action, taking stock of the battle. Sanji had Kuroobi handled. Neither of them looked to have an obvious advantage yet, though Sanji should come out ahead, barring any distractions-
"Usopp!"
… Like, hypothetically, a certain cartographer arriving to watch the fight with some unfortunate timing.
"Nami-san~!"
Pow!
Usopp winced as the cook went sailing into one of the pillars supporting the mansion's canopy.
'Eh,' he thought. 'We'll work on that.'
"Usopp!" Nami cried again.
"Hm?"
"Die, long-nose brat!"
'Oh.'
Before Usopp could follow through with dispatching the lunging fishman, Nami charged into the fray, Climatact in hand. The navigator cracked the sky blue staff across the fishman's face, pivoted and drove it into his gut, then twisted one component into a cross configuration.
Cyclone Tempo!
CRANG!
The eruptive blow of a metallic boomerang to the head, at short range no less, sent Usopp's would-be assailant tumbling backward. He flipped ass over teakettle before he flopped face down on the concrete.
Nami stood at his back, panting, her injured arm shaking a little. A glance toward her neighbors revealed several dozen slack jaws and incredulous faces. Nojiko looked torn between disbelief and belting out a slightly vindictive cheer.
"Thanks, Nami!" Usopp said. He gave her a thumbs up.
The cartographer looked more than a little surprised at her actions, too, though she returned a shaky smile. She bit down a hiss at a shift in her shoulder.
"Hey, easy," Usopp said. "We've got this. Let's"
"Nami, you backstabbing-!"
"Sit."
Usopp swatted another angry small fry pirate into the ground with his hammer. He touched Nami's uninjured shoulder and gestured toward the destroyed gate.
"We can take things from here."
"Sanji-kun"
"Don't worry about him," he said, ignoring the way people gaped at them for essentially strolling off the battlefield. "He's gonna bounce back ri~ght about…"
"You call that punch karate?" Sanji asked. He blew out a smoke ring as he tossed off his jacket. Even with blood caking his bangs, his eyes remained strong and unruffled. "The shitty geezer who raised me kicked me harder than that when I was nine."
Usopp chortled.
"Now."
Across the way, Zoro fared better than the 'first round', too. Neither had Luffy to worry about, and the swordsman had gotten proper treatment beforehand. Usopp caught him breathing a little harder, though nothing crippling or dangerous.
The sniper propped himself against the wall. Only the major players remained.
"I knew that woman was a conniving little wench."
Sanji loosened his tie.
"Oi," he said in a warning tone, glaring. "Watch your mouth. I hate wasting ingredients, but I'll make an exception on Nami-san's behalf."
Kuroobi laughed mirthlessly.
"You underestimate the gap in our strength," he said. "Chivalry in a pirate? Ridiculous! It won't help you save anything."
Sanji took a long, slow drag of his cigarette. Kuroobi adopted an offensive stance and advanced.
"You can't save yourself, your crew, the villagers, or that traitorous little b"
Fwoo.
Sanji spat his cigarette at the fishman's face. Kuroobi's eyes naturally tracked it and he wove his head to the side.
The next instant, Sanji ruthlessly exploited that brief opening.
Collier!
Neck: Windpipe collapsed.
Épaule!
Shoulder: Dislocated, bruised.
Côtelette!
Ribs: Cracked.
Selle!
Lower back: Forced hyperextension and disc herniation.
Poitrine!
Chest: Organ damage.
Gigot!
Legs: Busted kneecaps.
Kuroobi stumbled, smashed into the ground and tried several times to counterattack. Sanji's flexibility and agility never gave him the opportunity.
"ARGH! Filthy human! Thousand Brick Fist!"
Out of rage, Kuroobi thrust out his fist at blinding speed.
He only hit air.
Sanji flew, left leg raised for the finale.
Mouton Shot!
One second. Seventeen kicks.
Kuroobi's body whistled as he sailed through the courtyard, into the wall of Arlong's mansion, and out the other side.
"Now," Sanji said, flicking a match to light a fresh cigarette. "Tell me again, what exactly can't I protect? Shitty side dish."
"Sanji-kun!"
"Ah," the chef swept across the pavement to his angel's side. "Nami-san. Please tell me," he took her hand gently into both of his. "What would you like me to prepare for our victory feast?"
Zoro grunted. His opponent had used some fool tactic to break his guard and disperse his blades so he could head-butt Zoro's bandaged chest. Zoro's feet left the ground. The santoryuu practitioner was getting real sick of swordsmen who didn't fight with actual swordplay. Were his wounds less professionally sewn and bound, Zoro might have struggled to stay conscious.
'This fever's a pain in the ass, though.' Zoro griped in silence, each exhale coming out heavy and hot.
The doctor had told him he had a mild temperature. He'd recommended bed rest, or at least no strenuous activity, for a couple days.
Zoro had said
"Okay."
Which he said, obviously, to convey understanding, not compliance.
"Now," Hachi declared, rushing Zoro again. "I'll turn you into mincemeat! You won't touch down alive!"
"Without subtlety, a sword is not a sword."
Zoro evened out his breathing. Six blades in six arms spun in a uniform, predictable circular pattern as he fell. Zoro didn't concentrate on outright force. Instead, he merely stayed the six slashing blades' path, and he sliced in the gaps between.
Toro Nagashi!
He spun right between the blades and came out the other side of Hachi's onslaught on his feet, unscathed. The octopus cried out, blood spurting from lacerations on his hands.
"Nyu! You made a fool of me!"
Hachi took up his swords again, blowing steam and hopping mad.
"You can't win, Roronoa Zoro! It's simple math!"
He hoisted his blades, as if presenting them for judgement.
"You've only got half the swords I do!" Hachi said, as though explaining some verified fact that assured his victory. All this despite the fact that he'd failed to cut Zoro even once.
"Quantity doesn't matter," Zoro said, brandishing his own swords. "You can't handle the weight I carry."
Hachi charged, his six swords held with their apexes together in formation. He was aiming for another head-butt.
"What drives you to fight when you cannot win?"
Onigiri!
One stroke shattered Hachi's swords, leaving the octopus gaping at the hilts in his hands.
"That," Zoro said. "Is the difference in weight."
"Ragh!"
Hachi abandoned his weapons. His arms dissolved into a flurry of punches.
Tatsumaki!
Zoro twisted his body and pivoted on his feet, launching the octopus fishman into the air with a triple maelstrom slash.
"The promises I've made," Zoro said, sheathing Wado. "Trump your stupid circus-style swordplay."
Gomu Gomu no Bullet!
Luffy ran toward Arlong. He let his right arm hang back, then snap forward. The sawtooth shark fishman shifted to one side and caught the rubber man's wrist.
"Typical stupid human," Arlong sneered. "You eat a dumb devil fruit, get it into your head that you have real power and"
"SHUT UP!" Luffy shouted. He let his body retract toward his immobile arm, and he crashed headfirst into Arlong. "I don't give a crap about any of that!"
Arlong took a step back under the force that slammed into his gut. He lurched forward, head down and fangs bared to bite.
"I came here," Luffy said, stretching out the fingers on his right hand to wrap around Arlong's arm. He planted his feet squarely and twisted his body. His arm coiled around him. "To clobber you!"
The tension in Luffy's limb reached a peak and his arm snapped back, flinging Arlong into the wall of his multi-story fortress.
"Shahahaha!"
Arlong dashed out of the rubble without a scratch on him, teeth chomping ferociously. He pursued while Luffy jumped and ducked beyond the reach of his jaws.
"You're under the same delusion as all other humans! You think you're actually able to stand on equal terms with us, the superior species!"
Arlong's hand swept out and snatched Luffy by his hair. He yanked and hoisted the smaller captain up.
"Ow! Leggo!"
"You can't even survive in the ocean," Arlong laughed, hurling Luffy out over the pool that fed from the sea. "You aren't fit to be a pirate, let alone a match for fishmen!"
Luffy grunted and threw his arms back to land. He wrapped them around a pillar and pulled himself back to the pavement.
"So what?!"
He flexed and tore the pillar out from the ground. He spun around and broke it against Arlong's face, bowling the bigger fishman over.
"I can't do a lot of things, dumbass!"
'Luffy?'
"I can't do anything with a sword!"
Nami stared at Luffy's back, at the man she'd reached out to, uncomprehending of his intentions.
"I can't navigate or read a map either!"
The rubber man gesticulated with his fists.
"I'm a garbage cook, too! I can't even aim a cannon or shoot a gun!"
Nami spent eight years resisting and fighting 'can't' at every turn. She'd buried 'can't' under all the emotions she'd never allowed others to see.
Admitting to 'can't' would have broken her long before Luffy appeared in her life.
And yet, he stood tall, his voice unwavering, all confidence even as he openly confessed his weaknesses.
How? What gave him that courage?
"I know damn well I can't survive without help from other people!" Luffy shouted. "I have nakama who can do the things that I can't!"
"Ah."
Something clicked in her mind.
"I was wrong," Arlong chuckled darkly. He sat up, rising to his full height. "You're a very self-aware boy, admitting all your faults. Lacking in both dignity and ability! Tell me, what can you do?"
Luffy cracked his knuckles, undaunted.
"I can kick the crap outta you."
"Ha." Nami laughed and smiled.
'I think I finally understand, Luffy.'
"Try it, then!" Arlong said, arms out in challenge.
Luffy bull rushed his opponent, fist cocked. The shark fishman let moisture coalesce on his left arm and threw it at the smaller captain.
BAM!
Luffy's body came to a halt and his body stretched backward at each point of impact like he'd been struck by buckshot rather than water droplets.
"Doesn't work," Luffy said, half-grinning. "I'm a rubber man!"
Twist Gum!
Arlong used the momentary distraction to pull his full set of teeth out of his mouth. As a shark, they regrew instantaneously. He clapped the detached fangs into Luffy's left side, the teeth clamping together through his flesh.
"I'll eat you, little human!"
Luffy clenched his jaw and huffed through his nose. He reared his leg back and drove his knee into Arlong's stomach. The impact shook his larger opponent enough to loosen the grip he had on the fangs in Luffy's side. The rubber boy stretched both of his fists out behind him and snapped them forward, rapidly and repeatedly like a coiled spring.
Gomu Gomu no Gatling!
Arlong stumbled back under the force of a dozen blows a second. The sawtooth shark grimaced and plunged his head down to catch Luffy's fist in his teeth. The flurry ceased at that exact moment. Luffy ducked under the taller pirate, both his arms stretched out far behind him.
Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!
Both Luffy's palms smashed upward into Arlong's jaw. The force of the impact lifted the fishman off his feet and he flew upward, teeth cracking in his mouth.
"Hup!"
Luffy leapt onto the canopy over the ground floor of the mansion. He sprang up after Arlong, one leg stretching out.
Gomu Gomu no Muchi!
Luffy snapped his leg down into Arlong like the end of a whip and sent him spiraling into the courtyard pool.
Finally, the rubber man paused his onslaught, panting in midair. He tugged at the teeth still jammed in his side as he fell.
"Captain!" Usopp yelled from the sidelines. "Watch out!"
"Huh?"
Luffy twisted his neck to look at his sniper. He winced, finally ripping the teeth free of his side.
Shark on Darts!
Arlong shot out of the water like a torpedo, arcing upward. His sawtoothed nose sliced Luffy's hip, and the ballistic fishman knocked the rubber man out of the air.
"Gah!"
Blood leaked out from the fang marks on Luffy's side- the fresh cut on his hip bubbled hot red. He pulled up off his back, crouched and hissing with a hand over the wound.
"You rubber bastard," Arlong snarled from where he stood on the second floor balcony. He'd destroyed the guard rail with his first attack. "You come here, strike down my beloved comrades and you do this," he angrily swiped at the blood dripping from his mouth. "To me, A FISHMAN!"
Arlong hurled himself down, nose poised to pierce Luffy through and through. The Straw Hat captain rolled and scrambled out of the way. Arlong's nose went straight into the concrete, the stone fracturing to bits on impact.
"Whoa," Luffy exclaimed. "He's mad!"
"I've never seen Arlong's eyes like that." Nami whispered, face pale.
The shark fishman glowered through slitted pupils, dilated and black, evoking the look of an enraged Sea King. With a guttural roar, Arlong leapt for Luffy again. Backed into a corner, the rubber man slammed his head against the first floor wall of the mansion and dove inside.
Usopp stood with his arms crossed, tracking the progress of the fight as it moved inside via Haki. He'd almost interfered when he sensed Arlong's attack from the water, but held back.
Luffy would have been angry.
"I wish I knew what was happening!" One of the bounty hunters said, fidgeting nervously.
A wall on one of the upper levels gave way, revealing a glimpse of a sword fashioned after a saw, with teeth the size of the marksman's face.
"What the shitty hell's that?!" Sanji shouted.
"Kiribachi!" Nami gasped.
A door flew outside after crashing through a window on the top floor. The din from inside ceased. A long stretch of silence thickened the already tense atmosphere. No one spoke above a dull murmur for fear of missing some crucial part of the battle.
Suddenly, Usopp shuddered.
Luffy's 'voice' was fucking burning with rage.
"Do you honestly think you can use her as well as I can?!"
Luffy went still. He'd ran away from the angry shark until they broke into a room full of books and maps. Arlong had gloated about Nami's part in his plan to rule East Blue. He wanted to build some kind of empire. It had sort of gone over Luffy's head.
Then he'd noticed the pen that fell from the desk.
The bloody pen.
Nami's.
"Use?"
Luffy shattered the tooth of the blade Arlong held to his neck. He fixed the bastard shark with a glare intense enough to shoot lightning.
"Just what," he growled. "Is she to you?"
Sharky cackled. Luffy didn't listen. He rose to his feet.
Pirates didn't use people. Pirates were the freest people ever.
Whoever had been locked up in this room, forced to draw maps with bloody pens, wasn't free.
Nami wasn't free.
"She'll forever be my tool."
Arlong grinned, all teeth and madness.
"No… My nakama."
"SHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Wham!
Luffy slammed his foot into the desk and sent it flying out through the hole in the wall.
Fuck. That.
"Why, you-!"
Smash!
He put his fist through a bookshelf.
No more.
"Stop it!"
Shrrrip!
He dodged a swipe of Arlong's sword. The shark sliced through a stack of maps instead.
Not for one more second.
"My charts!"
Crash!
He hurled the maps and another table out.
'No nakama will suffer alone again!'
"You're ruining eight years of her hard work!"
HERS?
Arlong dropped the sword and grabbed Luffy by the throat.
"RAH!"
Crkack!
He added another hole in the wall for good measure.
Arlong bit into Luffy's neck.
Luffy gasped, sharp, hot pain stabbing at him. He set his jaw, clenched his teeth and grabbed the shark's saw nose in both of his fists.
"I don't care about how great fishmen are, or about your stupid empire! I don't get any of that stuff. But I do know how to help her now."
Luffy grunted and pulled.
Snap.
"ARGH!"
Arlong fell back, his nose bent at an unnatural angle.
"It's this room, this prison you put her in, where she doesn't wanna be."
Luffy glowered.
"I'LL DESTROY ALL OF IT."
Gomu Gomu no-
Luffy swung his foot and leg up through the ceiling, high up over the building.
Arlong yanked his nose back into place and launched himself at Luffy again, spinning on an axis like a drill.
Shark on Haguruma!
Luffy brought his foot down just as Arlong struck and his fangs sank into him again.
ONO!
Luffy's leg burst through the roof, stretching high above the mansion.
It snapped down.
The whole building shook as Luffy smashed his foot down through each floor. A fracture line broke out vertically down the center of the looming structure.
That ugly flag and shark peak Usopp saw on their way in fell and broke apart against the concrete.
Zoro dragged the dumbstruck (possibly catatonic) bounty hunters away. Usopp helped Sanji pull Nami away from the collapsing building against her protests, even as the ground shook and debris came crashing down.
A full minute passed before the dust settled. Only the breeze against the trees made any sound, the onlookers afraid to break the silence.
Usopp's crew mates looked about ready to start digging when the apex of the massive rubble pile shifted and a short, dark-haired figure burst forth.
"Luffy!" Nami cheered.
"A-ni-ki!" The duo blubbered.
He didn't respond right away, clearly steadying himself and breathing heavily.
At last, he took a long, deep gulp of air and shouted.
"NAMI!"
The entire gathered crowd waited with bated breath, none more so than the navigator herself.
"YOU ARE MY NAKAMA!"
His declaration echoed in the post-battle hush.
Nami gaped at him, wide-eyed. Her lower lip quivered, her shoulders trembled and her eyes misted. Yet even as she cried, she smiled, and Usopp could hear untainted relief and joy flowing from her 'voice' freely. She nodded.
"Uh-huh."