July, 28, 2020
READ THE WHOLE STORY AGAIN! This story had been majorly revised, all the past chapters (six) had sections in them that were changed or rewritten. With the recent chapters (last ch 985) a lot of new things had been revealed in the manga. Thus, I had to make a decision either to ignore all the new information and go on with what I had previously planned OR make some big revisions to the story and the plots that I had planned. As you understood, I chose the latter. Special thanks to Black' Victor Cachat for his enormous help with reversion. I wouldn't have made it without his insight and encouragement.
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This chapter was beta'd by the wonderful Gerbilfriend and Black' Victor Cachat who both helped me a lot with grammar, paraphrasing, ideas and especially with their endless encouragement :D (*Ace's deep bow*)
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Warnings:
English is my fourth language. Warning may change in the future.
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Guest
Thank you for your review.
Using the word 'brat' isn't only about Age. yeah, you can call someone a brat even if he is older than you. It can be a dig or an insult, maybe even meant as the person a brat 'mentally'. Whitebeard even show his affection by calling Luffy "cheeky brat". Don't take the use of the word alone, but look at the context and the personality of the speaker.
Hope you enjoy the new chapter :)
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Please read the notes in the end.
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Die, die, die, die, die, die.
Die
Die
DIE!
They should all die.
Humans were never to be trusted. They should all just die.
Big Brother Tiger was dying. He might be already dead.
Arlong couldn't stay in that suffocating room hearing Big Brother's last words anymore. His dying wishes.
Dying.
He was dying because of those filthy Humans. Nothing but slaving scum the lot of them.
Those Humans scum were at fault. Always. The world would be a better place without them.
They were no better than worms and leeches slithering on the earth, and utterly unworthy of the air they breathed.
He continued to pace on the deck, his anger and hate boiling inside of him. He was ready to burst. Any second now.
The few that followed him to the deck after he left his Big Brother side. Hatchan, Pisaro and Kuroobi had left him here alone after feeling on their skin his fury. They returned to Big Brother's side while he stayed here stewing in his rage. They dared not to try to calm him down while their Big Brother was dying. He destroyed one of the ex-Navy ship's masts in his fit of anger. He should destroy it. All of it.
They were on the damn marine battleship that they had stolen fleeing from the marines' ambush.
Their own ship had been destroyed and their captain had been shot again and again.
Brother was going to die in this wretched place.
Yet Arlong could do nothing.
Nothing.
He punched the rail with rage, breaking the metal in half with his superior, Fishman's strength. His heart squeezed in misery and grief.
He should have killed her. The little girl they had brought aboard like saps. Koala.
It was all damn Jinbe and Hatchan's fault. They stopped him when he beat her when she had first boarded the Sun Pirates ship. A Human on their ship. A Fishmen's ship.
He should have kept hitting her, again and again until she stopped her fake smiling for good. Until she stopped breathing. Like those filthy Humans that shot Big Brother again and again. After Big Brother had returned her to the embrace of her loving family. They betrayed him, showing their true colors. Repaid him with bullets to the back.
A little sweet girl humph… she was the spawn of those devils, she was a devil herself. If only he had killed her, brother wouldn't have come to this place intending on bringing her back home, those fucking marines and poor Humans wouldn't have been able to ambush him, he….
Big Brother Tiger had told him thousands of times not to kill Humans unnecessarily. Otherwise, they would stoop to the human's level.
They should stoop much lower. Much, much lower.
So Low that all of Humanity perished
Arlong paced and paced, his rage intensifying with each step he took. Regret, rage, hate and resentment filling his heart.
He should have killed the little shitty girl. She was a Human, the bane of every evil. Big or small mattered none. They were demons, evil! Even Big Brother knew that.
Humans needed to be slaughtered. To know their place. Crawling at the Fishmen's feet. (Or fins or tails). Their betters.
The words he just heard and tried not to dwell on echoed in his mind. Persistently.
Big Brother Tiger's choked voice. His crying face was etched into Arlong's memory. He never saw him cry before. But because of those revolting trash, he had.
He left, unable to bear seeing his Big Brother reduced to such a pathetic state. Because of those ungrateful pests. He could taste the bitterness on his tongue.
But the image was still clear in his eyes' mind. Refusing to leave him.
He was alone on the deck. Alone with his rage. To pace and destroy this filthy place. A marines' ship. Humans.
He had heard Aladine's soft request not to destroy it too much when they first boarded, running for their lives. They needed it to sail away and treat Big Brother. But they didn't need it anymore. Brother was dying, there was no more need for the ship. They were Fishmen, the sea was their home. They didn't need ships like those inferior Humans to sail the sea. Yet another thing they were better at than the Humans. It was nature's call for them.
He stared at the huge mast in front of him. Of course, Humans needed masts and sails. Bigger and bigger or else they will never reach them. Catch them. Make them submit.
He closed his fists and punched, again and again.
He felt nothing, no pain or ache. No hot blood trickling down his wounded back. A gift from those filthy Humans.
Big Brother's face and words didn't vanish no matter how hard he punched.
I was a slave!
Those filthy scum had made someone as strong and powerful as Big Brother a slave. Slave.
Punch and another. The sound of wood splintering and cracking give him a slight feeling of satisfaction.
Those shitty worms, less than worms, had dared … they marked him, put their filthy mark on him. The Sun tattoo on his chest was there to hide his own mark of ownership. Big Brother Tiger marked the little ungrateful Human girl with their jolly roger. A tattoo to hide the slavers' mark, like he did to himself. He said it was to free her, to free him. But it was to hide his shame! All because of those foul shits, those mere worms. Humans. They dared put a leash, a mark on Big Brother. Taking his freedom. His choice. His identity.
What I saw there was the insanity of Humans.
The world would be better served without Human filth. They only brought destruction and misery. They were all insane and cruel. They should all die. JUST DIE.
Fishmen should slaughter the Humans, not save them. Make the world fear Fishmen. They were the strongest race. Fishmen were superior. Humans should bow and cower before them.
Arlong didn't even flinch when the mast fell to the side of the ship, cracking the deck and dragging the sails and rolling widely to fall all the way to the sea. Two down and another two to go.
I fled for my life, but I couldn't just forget about all those slaves I saw…
That was Big Brother's ultimate goal. Freeing the oppressed.
He built this crew and brought them all together to help the slaves, to free them. Humans and Fishmen. But they should have left the Humans to rot there. If they had then Big Brother would not be on his deathbed.
He told Big Brother that they should instill fear in Humans by using ruthlessness and extreme brutality. But Big Brother refused to listen. He should have made him listen.
Listen carefully. I did things that I wanted, and I interfered with Queen Otohime as a result. But she is right.
She was wrong. Always wrong. Peace between Humans and Fishmen was impossible. A dream. No. A nightmare. Big Brother didn't interfere. He saved lives. Ungrateful assholes that he should have left to horrors death. To rot away.
They should all die.
Arlong strode and stared with unseeing eyes at the next mast.
Everybody wants peace of course. But the only people who can make a difference on that island…are the children of the next generation like Koala who aren't prejudiced.
He was wrong. Wrong. It was because of this little shit... They should have left her there… beat her to death…why return her? Why save her? Little Human scum. Her village sold them out without a second thought. It was a trap. The little sweet Human monster was a bait to lure them here.
They were waiting for Big Brother to get back from returning the Human girl when they heard the shots from the village direction and marine battleships suddenly surrounded them. How else could they have known where to wait so perfectly to ambush them?
Humans were selfish ungrateful filth. MONSTERS. TRASH. Mere things beyond any redemption. He would find them and make every last one of them pay for their betrayal. He would destroy the whole village.
So, please! Don't tell the people on the island anything. Neither the tragedy we endured nor of our anger towards Humans.
He had protested hearing those words. He had raged inside and out, with unstoppable angry tears in his eyes mirroring the tears in Big Brother eyes. That was what Humans did. They even reduced him to tears. Pathetic. The Fishmen back home should know of the Humans' lies and cruelty. That what Queen Otohime spoke of was mere illusion. There was no way for Humans and Fishmen to coexist.
But Big Brother Tiger called his name in anger and anguish. It still echoes in his ears.
Arlong would follow Big Brother's last wish. He would think of it as his last order. He will take his Big Brother's tale and death to his grave. But no more.
NO MORE.
He thrust his hand forward, hitting the mast with fever, cracks and splinters appearing on it.
There are so many Humans that are compassionate.
No, there wasn't. All of them were monsters. The compassionate smiles they wore were masks. And even if they were. So what. If they are so compassionate, then they could kill themselves and make his job easier. Yes, Human mass suicide would make the world a better place.
I know but it's … funny...the dying leave only their resentment behind.
Arlong was going to fuel his soul with this resentment. He was going to let it gnaw on his bones and soul and then use it as a weapon. He would slaughter them. Make them see, hear and feel only fear. Drown in it.
And even though I knew that there are kind Humans, there is a devil inside me that is clouding my thoughts.
Yes, that's what he would become a devil and it would be his mission to eradicate the evil that is the Humans. All of them. Each and every one of them would be dead.
My whole body rejects their blood.
Damn it, damn it. DAMN IT TO HELL! Why was it like this!? He would have given every drop of his blood if he could save Big Brother. He would dry himself up. But none of them were a match to Big Brother. NONE. His blood type was very rare. Only the blood in the marine infirmary was a match. Human blood. Filthy blood.
I can't … love Humans.
Arlong stopped, not bothering to look at his handiwork.
Love… Humans knew of no such feeling. They couldn't. They knew only of hate, cruelty and greed. Of lies and deceit.
He shouldn't have listened to Big Brother. He should have killed her. Killed every last one of them.
Big Brother said it himself that he preferred to die and not to take one drop of their filthy blood inside of his body. Blood filled with their hate towards Fishmen. Death was more merciful than having their tainted blood inside of him.
Arlong clenched his fists hard. Drawing blood that all his punching wasn't able to accomplish and not caring.
He would leave and find those Humans. The villagers and the marines responsible for this. That was his first step. They will pay. Blood is the only price he will accept. He would paint the sea red with their blood.
The ship suddenly swayed. Its motions were unnatural. The weather hadn't changed yet the sea …. Had the marines found them? Intending on finishing the job… he will show them.
Arlong looked around in suspicion moving forward trying to find any ship on the horizon, any hint of the Human filth.
A sudden thump made him freeze. It was close. The sound came from behind him.
"Ah… good... So this is the right ship. You are... Arlong… right?"
Arlong turned abruptly, to face the speaker. His stance and posture ready to hail attacks.
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He relaxed.
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It was Fishman. Not a Human.
He unclenched his fisted hands and stared at the newcomer.
He didn't recognize him. He wasn't from their crew. Yet somehow, he knew Arlong.
The newcomer was a shark Fishman with shark-like teeth. His teeth stick out of his mouth from his lower jaw similar to Jinbe, but unlike Jinbe he has three small teeth on each side instead of one large one. He also has three pairs of gills on his neck. His wet hair was still arranged in spikes pointing upwards. He also had the number 8 tattooed to the left side of his neck. The unfamiliar Shark Fishman turned a bit around, his eyes scanning the deck, assessing the damage with cold detachment, and Arlong saw a gray shark fin protruding from his back.
Arlong was about to demand his name and purpose, his anger placed –temporarily— aside to assess this new development.
"Where is Jinbe? Or Captain Tiger…. It was hard tracking you down ….. Why are you on a Marine ship by the way? What happened to your ship...? Hmmm…?"
He looked at Arlong expectantly, and Arlong opened his mouth and then shrugged.
Unable to utter the words out loud. What could he say?
Our Captain was dying. Dead. All because of those filthy traitorous Humans.
The Fishman looked familiar. Had Arlong known him from the Fishman District; where he, Jinbe, and several of the crew grew up? Arlong's eyes returned to the tattoo below the left jawbone. 8. It stirred something inside of his mind.
"Anyway... Where is your captain? Or Jinbe... I have an urgent message from Oyaji."
And it finally clicked.
This was a traitor. The worst kind. A traitor to his own race. A Fishman that had joined a Human. Was under him. Following him.
The piece of garbage in front of him had joined Whitebeard. The misguided morons back home believed him to be a hero. The Human hero that freed Fishman Island from the tyranny of other Humans.
A hero. Huh… he was like the other filth, making their home his turf. They were a mere piece of land belonging to him. A Showoff. Claiming Arlong's people!
The fact that their moron of a king had asked the Human for help made it all the more despicable. It showed he was weak. He was their king, the one supposedly the most powerful of them all, except he had asked a Human to save them. It gritted on Arlong's nerves. That they -the strongest creatures -needed help from a mere Human.
"What does your shitty master want from us, you traitorous dog!?" Arlong raged loudly. Unleashing the roaring storm inside of him.
"Oi… what..."
"That filthy Human thinks we will do his bidding! Finally showing his true colors! Hero my ass!"
"Hey, watch it! I don't know what crawled up your ass and died! But don't you dare speak like that about Oyaji!"
"Or what? You will show me my place. Bring me to heel to your ohhh heroic master."
The Fishman in front of him bared his teeth like he wanted to bite Arlong's head off. He can try. Arlong will show him.
Both of them tensed their bodies, adopting an attack stance while moving forward menacingly, slowly... Their eyes assessing every subtle movement the other made. Looking for an opening, a weakness.
"What is going on here?!" bellowed Jinbe. He was striding hurriedly to their direction, trailing behind him were several of the crew.
Arlong shouting had altered them that something was wrong, and they hurried to check, afraid of another attack. They are yet to recover from the last one.
"Arlong..."
"Stay out of it, Jinbe," spitted Arlong. Venom lacing every word. His eyes not leaving the traitorous Fishman in front of him. No, he was not one of them but a dog in service of a lowly Human.
"Jinbe….I have come to..." the other shark Fishman relaxed his stance, ignoring Arlong's presence, and began speaking.
Yet Jinbe ignored him, not giving him even a glance and strode up standing in between them.
Staring at Arlong with unconcealed rage.
"Our Big Brother… Captain... is dying and that's what you are doing..." Jinbe bellowed at him, his fists clenched hard, glaring at Arlong with anguish and frustration.
"Captain Tiger is dying?" the Fishman-dog asked alarmed. "How? Why?" he demanded looking around him for an explanation.
"He lost a lot of blood..." murmured Hatchan, he was looking worried and distressed. His eyes darted from Arlong to Jinbe.
"His blood type isn't in the infirmary…?" the intruder asked in hesitation. As if just remembering that this was a Human ship.
Everyone tensed up. Eyes colored with indignation and sadness. Eyes refusing to meet the intruder's gaze. Shying away.
He was the only one that could see Jinbe's face turn ashen, his shoulder tensing up even more.
None of them wanted to acknowledge the truth.
Yes, there was. But only filthy Human blood. Blood that Big Brother rejected with all his body. With all his might.
Arlong didn't let him finish the question. His eyes not shying from meeting the dog's eyes.
"No! He wouldn't be dying you filthy dog, if there was," Arlong shouted.
Human blood meant no blood.
The Fishman didn't seem bothered by Arlong's outburst. Instead, he calmly stretched his hand, touching Jinbe's tensed shoulder and turning him slowly to face him.
"What is his blood type?"
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I needed a lot of M&M's and hot showers after writing this (ask my betas). Send me some chocolate (or reviews, I am not that picky). My first time writing Arlong (I did write Big Mom, Blackbeard, and Akainu in my other stories, my less favorite characters). It was hard, very hard. Hate, racism, grief, and revenge-seeking -all together- isn't my 'cup of tea' as a writer. But I hope that I was able to reflect his thoughts 'realistically'.
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Thank you all for your reviews, PM and motivation. I am doing better and I had a lot of fun reading all of your theories. You would need to read on to find if any of you were right ;)
Guests reviewers your answers are above.
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Few general remarks:
1. The scene in the last chapter (ch 4 The Swaying Future) with Shanks complaining about his hair inspired me to write a rant by drunk Shanks. Story named Shanks's Hair Trouble: An extremely drunk Shanks face his mightiest enemy yet, his Hair. Shanks isn't sure who would win, but he would prevail…kinda…maybe. Starring an 'Evil' Benny-Roo, scissor and butt jokes. You have been warned. Inspiration is from the story D Sway the Waves of Time.
While at it check my other stories. Especially the stories I am collaborating with two awesome Writers. Stories: ReunionS and One Piece: Luffy's Mother is WHO?.
2. Kerzenlicht from archiveofourown wrote a story inspired by this story named Prevailing Darkness. (I am not sure how I feel about it yet, but it's an interesting read, check it out :D)
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Keep the motivation rollin' :D leave a review (or M&Ms).