Nami slowly peered out from behind a stack of barrels in a dark alleyway, seeing nothing but an empty street and rain.
"Ok… I think I lost him…" she whispered, letting out a sigh of relief. Then, her eyes shot open. Despite the noise the storm made, she could hear the splashing sound of a sandaled foot stepping into a puddle behind her. Nami threw herself forward, narrowly avoiding Arlong's mighty Kiribachi as it cleaved the stack of barrels and the fish contained within. Nami rolled to her feet, turning around as she did to face Arlong as he charged forward once again.
"You can't run forever" the Marine captain growled, raising his blade.
"Maybe. But I can run long enough to get away from you" Nami winked, before flinging a fish she had taken out of one of the barrels earlier at him. The fish flew straight into Arlong's face, getting skewered by his jagged nose and remaining in place. More importantly, the fish's body blocked Arlong's line of sight.
"Wha-HEY!"
Arlong reeled back, shaking his head to try to get the fish off his face. With one mighty turn of his neck he managed to slash through the fish, making it fall to the ground. Though in the few seconds it took him to do that, Nami was already gone. Arlong quickly spotted her, soaring through the air further down the street. She had used her grappling-arm to grab onto a roof and use the momentum of reeling herself up to fling herself forwards.
"Don't you go thinking that's gonna be enough…" Arlong muttered, before holding his hand forward. He bent his fingers with his palm up, making a small bowl that quickly filled up with rainwater.
"Blue Hunt!"
Arlong swung his arm towards Nami, flinging the small amount of water in his hand towards her. The water flew like a bullet, hitting Nami in her lower back. Despite being only water, it struck with tremendous force. Nami's eyes widened as her back arched from the force, and she began backflipping uncontrollably. Unable to get back control she slammed into the pavement, bouncing once before she rolled a few meters forward.
Nami reached back and rubbed the spot the water bullet hit her, trembling slightly from the pain. Before she had time to get back up, she noticed a big shadow behind her. Arlong was standing over her, with both hands on the blunt end of Kiribachi. He crouched down as he slammed the sawblade down, using both arms to press it down towards Nami's neck.
Nami had had mere moments to react. She was on her back, her hands pushing against the sharp end of Kiribachi as hard as she could to keep it from reaching her neck. One tooth was digging into the ground on either side of Nami's neck, with the blade threatening to get ever closer as Arlong did his best to force Kiribachi down further. Nami's metal hand pressed as hard as she could against the blade, while her other hand struggled. Her palm was getting a nasty cut, and Arlong showed no signs of stopping.
Arlong frowned and bared his shark teeth. Suddenly, he felt the resistance yield somewhat, and Kiribachi began digging deeper into the ground… and growing ever closer to cutting off Nami's head. But before that happened, Nami's already damaged human right hand reached up and grabbed onto Arlong's nose. Taken aback, Arlong didn't react in time to prevent Nami from pulling down and bending Arlong's nose. His pointy, saw-toothed nose was now bent at a 90 degree angle pointing downwards.
"GRYAAAAAARGH!"
Arlong reeled back in pain from his broken nose, giving Nami the opportunity to push Kiribachi up and away from her. Then, Nami gripped her forearm as she aimed her arm at Arlong. She pulled it back, then released… and a second explosion blasted out from her knuckles, straight into Arlong's face. This blast was weaker than the one she had fired at Kalifa, but was still enough to send Arlong stumbling back a few steps before he fell on his back.
"Franky was right" Nami sighed, rubbing her throat as she stood up. "Having a reserve storage of gunpowder for a second shot was definitely worth it."
With that, she began running once more. At the end of the street she could see a harbor, as well as the Going Batty starting to cast off. She smirked, then glanced back and saw Arlong already sitting up, grabbing his broken nose to fix it.
"Seriously? He's already getting back up? Well, doesn't matter. The ship is right there, he won't be able to catch up!"
Nami grinned as she saw her crew excitedly waving at her. She began readying her arm for another grapple, to reach the ship as it sailed away from Logueport. However, Arlong also spotted the ship.
"So… that's her ship, is it? What a coincidence, that they'd sail from the same port she's at…" Arlong muttered to himself. He stood up, he pulled out a Baby Den Den Mushi to contact his subordinate.
*CLANK*
Nami's mechanical hand gripped onto the Going Batty's railing. The Straw Hats cheered as their orange-haired captain zipped towards the ship, doing a frontflip over the railing and landing on the deck. She opened her mouth to say something cool… then the entire ship stopped in place, and all the Straw Hats fell over.
"Oh what the hell is it NOW?!"
Franky looked up to see a set of very large, dainty fingers reach over the railing on the starboard side. Chopper saw an equivalent set on the backboard side. Luffy looked to the rear of the ship, where he saw two massive, pink hoops of what looked like hair. The hoops moved upwards, revealing a full head of hair followed by a pair of huge, wet, apologetic eyes.
"Um… sorry… but Captain Arlong told me to stop you…" the gigantic woman said softly, though given her size even speaking in such a soft tone was loud enough to pound the Straw Hats' eardrums.
"Hey! That's the giant lady I thought was a fish!" Luffy yelled, pointing at the massive Marine.
"S-sorry… I'm a mermaid… not a fish…" she apologized, lowering a bit behind the ship as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "Please don't yell at me… it's scary…"
"SORRY BUT WE GOTTA GO THERE'S A SCARY SHARK MAN AFTER US!" Usopp yelled as he rushed forth. He gripped the handle of his five-ton hammer with both hands, leaping into the air. The gigantic mermaid let out a frightened yelp before taking a hammer-blow to the forehead, making her fall back into the water while letting go of the Going Batty. "Ok let's go! Now! Before-AHHHH HE'S RIGHT THERE!"
Usopp pointed towards the harbor, where Arlong was hauling ass towards them.
"The storm's causing some heavy winds, let's try to use that to get as far away as possible!" Chopper yelled out, as he and the others scurried to their feet.
Arlong grit his teeth, seeing his subordinate take a hit like that. He couldn't help but find it a bit amusing that the Straw Hats were hoping to sail away from him, though. He's a fishman, after all. Swimming is in his blood. Perhaps they were hoping he'd give up if they got out of Loguetown? Didn't matter what their plan was. All that mattered to Arlong was Nami. He would not allow her to escape.
The edge of the harbor was rapidly approaching. Arlong readied himself to dive into the water… when someone suddenly stepped in front of him.
Gh-out of the way!" he yelled, skidding to a stop to not run straight into them. He quickly sidestepped to try to get around them, only for the stranger to step in front of Arlong again. "What do you think you're-"
He stopped as he got a better look at the person in front of him. They were clad from head to toe in a long dark green cloak covering their entire body. The figure looked up at Arlong, letting him see their face underneath their hood. Arlong's eyes widened as he saw a grinning woman with a cigarette, and a few bits of fuschia hair visible. He had seen her face before, on bounty posters.
"You've had a stressful time. I think you've earned yourself a break" the woman grinned at Arlong with her arms crossed. Arlong let out a long sigh.
"She one of yours?" the Marine fishman asked, glancing up at the Going Batty disappearing into the rain.
"I don't have anything to do with the path she chose."
"Then why protect her?"
"Why not?" she chuckled.
"Big risk. The woman known as the 'World's Most Wanted Criminal' wouldn't just go around showing herself for the sake of random pirates" Arlong said as he sheathed Kiribachi on his back.
"Maybe I do, and you've just never heard of it. If you disappeared right now, nobody would ever know I was here~" the woman winked. "Ah, I'm kidding. Just think about my advice, alright? Sometimes it's best to take a little break. Do whatever you will afterward. But for now… just take five."
With that, the woman in the cloak walked off. Arlong stood in place for a few seconds, staring at the rain hitting the sea. He then sat down on a mooring post, letting out a deep sigh. After a little while longer, the giant pink-haired mermaid Marine emerged from the water. She spotted Arlong sitting on the post, and swam over. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Arlong cut her off.
"You were down for a while, Shirahoshi. You ok?"
"O-oh, y-yeah" Shirahoshi nodded. "Sorry, it's just… they were all yelling and screaming, and I got scared, so I decided to stay down for a bit longer…"
"It's fine. Things got complicated, we wouldn't have caught them anyways. Still, you need to work on your courage. You're as strong as a battleship, but you're a fragile wimp" Arlong stated plainly, looking out across the stormy sea while resting his arms on his knees.
"H-hey!" Shirahoshi pouted, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Suddenly, a few Marine recruits ran up to the two from behind.
"Captain Arlong, sir! The leaders of the other pirate crews managed to slip away. What happened to Straw Hat Nami?"
"I see. As for Nami… she also got away" Arlong replied without looking at them. "Return to base. I will be back soon."
"Y-yes sir!"
The recruits saluted, then walked off. As they went, Arlong and Shirahoshi could overhear them whispering to each other.
"Seriously? He left all the other pirates to us so he could chase her, and he didn't even do it right?" "She was worth a lot of money. That's all that greedy asshole cares about." "Well, now he ended up with no bounties. Bet that'll be a lesson for him!" "Doubt it. He has millions stored away."
Arlong wasn't changing his facial expression, but Shirahoshi had a look of frustration.
"You don't even keep any of the money from the bounties" Shirahoshi frowned after the Marines had left. "You send it all to where you grew up. To build schools and businesses and everything!"
"And…?" Arlong replied dryly.
"Why don't you let THEM know that? It's no fair that they keep talking about you like that" she whined, leaning closer to him.
"If everyone thinks I'm some greedy jerk that has all the money stored somewhere close, they'll look there if they want to steal it. It's easier to keep money from being intercepted if nobody knows it's being sent in the first place. Besides, I've made plenty of enemies… both outside and inside the Marines. Don't wanna paint a target on my old home."
Arlong kept a neutral expression as he gave his explanation.
"I… see…" Shirahoshi nodded. She looked down, twirling her fingers. "...it's still too bad about those pirates getting away."
"I'm gonna go after them. The Straw Hats" Arlong stated.
"But… we're posted here in Loguetown!" Shirahoshi pointed out. "If we leave, then the higher ups-"
"The higher ups can kiss my ass" Arlong growled. "I'm not asking you to come. The Grand Line's a lot scarier than anything you'll find in the East Blue."
Shirahoshi nodded timidly and looked aside. Then, she suddenly looked back at Arlong with a pout.
"No! I can't be a baby forever! I have to learn to be tougher!" she declared, shaking her fists with newfound determination. That determination quickly faded as Arlong suddenly roared and snapped at her, showing off his deadly shark teeth. Shirahoshi yelped with a terrified expression, almost falling backwards into the water again.
"Shahahahaha" Arlong laughed uproariously. "Still have a long way to go! I'd be happy to have someone I can trust with me. Even if you are a crybaby."
"Stop calling me a crybaby" Shirahoshi huffed, while pouting like a baby.
"We'll have to work on your angry face" Arlong chuckled.
"Looks like he's given up."
Nami was shielding her eyes from the rain as she looked towards the harbor rapidly fading away.
"I think someone stepped in front of him and made him stop."
"Aw, man" Franky groaned, tossing a large metal orb aside. "And I just finished my prototype seamine. I wanted to test it out!"
Usopp cried out in fear as the seamine landed beside him.
"Don't just throw prototype bombs on the floor!" he yelled at Franky, who didn't even react.
"Well, at least we can relax now we're out of Loguetown" Luffy grinned, hands on his hips. Then the sky flashed with a brilliant light, and the sound of thunder rolled over the ship. "Oh, right. We're in a storm."
"From here it's a straight shot to Reverse Mountain" Chopper explained, hanging on as best as he could onto a rope before Franky stepped up to help him out. In the distance, through the heavy rain and the turbulent waves, a large mountain was slowly coming into view. A reddish wall of stone that disappeared into the clouds, the stone coloration that gave the Red Line its name. A nigh impenetrable line of land that stretched across the entire planet like a ring, dividing the world into four along with the great line of sea the Grand Line. "Once we're there, we'll have to sail up the mountain!"
"Wait… sail UP the mountain?!" Usopp asked in disbelief. "That doesn't sound safe… or possible."
"It's the only way to reach the Grand Line! That mountain is the connecting point between the East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, South Blue and the Grand Line. It's either that or going through the Calm Belt."
"Calm Belt sounds great, actually! Let's do that."
"We'll have to row for hundreds of miles."
"Well, if we go in shifts-"
"Past the biggest Sea Kings in the world."
"Why is being a pirate so scary?" Usopp sobbed, leaning back in displeasure as he dropped to his knees.
"If it's too scary, hop overboard" Nami stated plainly.
"Hey! That's rude!" Usopp angrily replied. "As captain, you should be encouraging your subordinates, not-"
"There's no way back up Reverse Mountain, is there, Chopper?" Nami asked, glancing at the navigator. After getting confirmation with a shake of his head, she continued. "Once we go up there, that's that. We're in the Grand Line. And I'm either going to become the Pirate Queen, or I'm gonna die. And whoever my crew is, I'll put my life in their hands. Just as they can put their lives in mine. I won't force any of you to tag along if you don't want to be a part of that."
A light passed over the ship. Through the heavy rain, a lighthouse was visible. Nami stood near the front of the ship, arms crossed as she looked towards the lighthouse, and Reverse Mountain behind it.
"There's a lighthouse there. If you have even a shred of doubt, hop on land there. I won't blame you."
Five Straw Hats sailed towards the lighthouse. Five Straw Hats sailed past the lighthouse.
"Chopper" Nami called out. "What do you need us to do?"
"Luffy, you need to help Franky with the rudder, the waves are only gonna get even stronger as we get closer."
"Grr… yeah, I'm feeling it" Franky nodded with a strained look on his face, clutching onto the large wooden lever used to control the rudder with both hands as Luffy rushed over to help.
"Turn it a bit starboard… Usopp, grab that rope over there and pull! Nami, pick me up so I can get a better look!"
Chopper ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, jumping into Nami's arms. She held him over the railing, holding on tight to make sure he wouldn't fall into the churning waves around them. The Going Batty creaked as it struggled against the heavy winds and raging sea.
"I… still don't get how we're gonna sail over this mountain" Usopp groaned, holding fast on the rope. "The Red Line is hundreds of meters tall at its shortest. I know the Going Batty has the whole bat-motif, but it can't ACTUALLY fly like a bat!"
"There!" Chopper called out, pointing towards Reverse Mountain. Nami looked where he was pointing, but only saw a river going into the sea. She frowned as she looked more closely, then her eyes widened.
"That river… is going UP!"
Indeed, at the mouth of the river, the water flowed towards Reverse Mountain, before proceeding to travel up the steep mountainside!
"We have to follow that river!" Chopper yelled to make his voice cut through the whipping rain and surging winds. The mouth of the river was decorated with multiple square stone arcs, looking like guides for any would-be pirates hoping to reach the Grand Line. "Port side!"
Luffy and Franky were both clutching the lever operating the rudder, pulling on it to turn the ship portways. They had grit teeth, and were trembling from the effort of fighting the currents around the Batty.
"Harder portside! We're gonna crash!" Chopper yelled, watching in horror as the Batty's course was heading straight for one of the stone arcs.
"Trying… our… b-" Franky grunted as he and Luffy pulled on the lever… only for it to snap completely, leaving the two pirates holding a wooden pole and no way of operating the rudder. "...balls."
Chopper let out a frightened yelp, then another as he was suddenly pulled back and put on the ground. Nami dashed towards the stern of the ship, going over the railing and clinging onto the wooden planks. She climbed down towards the rudder of the ship, getting all the way up close. Then, she held on tight to the ship and put one leg on either side of the rudder. She grit her teeth as she began twisting her body, forcibly rotating the rudder with her own strength.
"Nami!"
Chopper, Franky and Luffy had run to the ship's stern, peering over the railing to watch Nami.
"What's going on? Are we jumping ship?!" Usopp yelled, not quite understanding what was going on.
"No! Just hold on to that rope! One of you, help me look at how the ship is steering."
Chopper began running back towards the bow along with Franky, as Luffy remained behind. With a boost from Franky, Chopper could get a good look at how the ship was steering… and saw the ship's hull turn just enough to barely miss the stone arch. With that crisis avoided, the stream of the river took over, safely carrying the ship along the middle of the river.
"We did it!" Chopper cheered. Nami could only barely hear him from where she was, and breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up, seeing the sandaled foot of Luffy dangling above her. She reached up and grabbed around his ankle, and the wrestling chef pulled himself back up to give Nami a boost.
The five Straw Hats gathered at the bow. On either side of the ship were tall walls of reddish stone, but the current kept them at a safe distance. Soon they began leaving the storm behind, and cloudy blue skies were above them once more. And below them, as the river carried them higher and higher into the air, breaking through the cloud cover.
"We're at the summit soon" Chopper excitedly declared, pointing towards the peak of Reverse Mountain.
"Better hold on to your butts, and something solid! Looks like a bumpy ride" Franky grinned, seeing that the summit looked like a volcano that sprouted water rather than lava.
"You could go to the North Blue if you jumped" Luffy mused, smirking as he idly pondered how fun it would be to fall all the way down. Four rivers, one from each of the four Blues, were constantly crashing together on the summit.
"Are you sure this is going to be ok? How are we even going to get down?!" Usopp cried out, right before the Going Batty reached the summit. The ship was carried into the air by the momentum of the current, thrown above the crashing rivers below it for a moment. As the ship landed back down it started following a fifth river, this one actually going down the mountain.
"The Grand Line is straight ahead…" Nami smiled, holding onto the railing as the Going Batty zoomed down Reverse Mountain. "The sea where it is. The treasure that will make the Pirate Queen. One Piece."
