Never again!
So today I'll be writing on the Arlong Park Arc, which is considered the best arc in the East Blue Saga. This chapter will include some emotional scenes and a bonus arc. I really hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece
Chapter 7: The not-so-superior fishman Arlong
"Nami-swaan, I have food for you!", Sanji raved, treating Nami with the best fruit cupcake. "And here's your bloody meat!", he unfriendly muttered to everyone else.
The cook liked it on Merry, he loved compliments about his food, although he only really loved Nami's compliments.
Luffy was a special case. Him dubbing Sanji "best cook of the world", was pretty nice to hear for the blond, but his immeasurable gluttony, especially with meat, started annoying the new pirate. 'How can a single person eat that much, that's the 9th plate already.', he wondered.
Suddenly, a giant sea-cow-monter-like creature emerged from the sea, looking at the Going Merry. His head alone was bigger than Merry.
"AAAAAH!", Johnny and Yosaku screamed. "He's going to eat us!"
Following the scream of the idiot pair, Sanji decided to approach the monster with some meat he originally planned to serve Luffy. "Here sea cow, don't be afraid.", he gently spoke, offering him the captain's meat.
Sanji was a calm and peaceful man who would never attack an animal. He wouldn't have attacked the giant sea mammal if he didn't try to eat the cook's hands, which the cow did. "Don't push your luck!", Sanji shouted, jumping upwards. "Collier Shoot!"
The cow mooed in pain as Sanji hit him hard by his neck. "Go away now, before I turn you into a steak!"
"Sanji, wait!", Luffy exclaimed. "We can use him to pull Merry. Someone, get a rope!"
"Roger, Captain Luffy!", Usopp loudly said, running inside to search for a rope.
"I'm on it.", Zoro told, helping Usopp searching.
The injured sea monster attempted to flee, but Luffy held him tight due to his gomu gomu powers. "You're not going anywhere!", he called, but not in a threatening tone.
2 minutes later, the Straw Hats managed to put a collar around his neck. "Mooooh!", he screamed, depressed by his defeat and capture. Nami and Luffy were standing in the front end of Merry's deck, while the others were 'somewhere else'.
"Hey Luffy.", Nami began, a little more communicative than ever. "Did you know Mohmoo is actually from the Grand Line?"
"No, no I didn't.", Luffy lied.
"Arlong brought it here with him 10 years ago. He's from the Grand Line too.", she said, little to no expressions on her face.
"What does a fishman want in the East Blue?", the 17-year-old asked.
"He came here with his crew to terrorize us humans.", the ginger stated. "And to get some money."
"What did you experience in those 10 years?", Luffy questioned, fully aware of what happened to his navigator.
"I went through hell!", she growled, unable to hold back tears. "This asshole killed my mother when she didn't have enough money to pay the monthly survival tribute. It is a tribute you pay monthly to Arlong to stay alive. My mother didn't have enough money, so she sacrificed herself to save me and my sister Nojiko. She was then unscrupulously shot by Arlong. After he learned about my map-drawing skills, he kidnapped me and forced me to draw maps for him. One day I felt like I was betraying my fellow villagers, so I made a deal with Arlong. If I get 100 Million Berry together, he'll let my village Cocoyasi be free again. That's the reason I robbed many people, especially pirates. Until I pay him,", the girl explained, showing what's left of her tattoo, "I am practically his slave. This is my 'slave marking'."
Luffy was fuming inside. He remembered that he was nowhere near this angry the first time he was told this story. But hearing it directly from his crying nakama made everything worse. 'I swear Arlong, I'll make you pay for what you did to my nakama.'
"You can come out now.", the strawhat ordered, a deep voice coming out of his mouth, his eyes darker than his hair.
Right after the order was given, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Johnny and Yosaku came out of their hiding. The Straw Hats' eyes had the same dark expression as the eyes of their captain. Johnny and Yosaku weren't as sternly looking as Zoro, Sanji, or even Usopp, but still a little. The overall look of the scenery changed, as the sky was now covered in lighting-struck pitch black clouds.
"Nami-san, I promise those fishmen will get hurt real bad.", Sanji declared, free from all love talk.
"An enemy of my friend is my enemy.", Zoro told her, his confidence at highest despite the injury he has recently suffered.
"I'll do my best to help you, Nami, I won't let you down!", Usopp called, showing absolutely no signs of fear.
"We will help you too, Nami-aneki.", Johnny stated.
"I-indeed!", Yosaku added.
"T-thank you so much, guys.", Nami started to cry, touched by her nakama's will to help her.
"Nami, do you have 100 Million Berry?", Luffy asked, reassuring her.
"Y-yes, with the money on board, it should exactly be 100 Million.", she said.
"Good. Listen, ask a friend to borrow you a cart or a barrow. Load the money on it, then bring it to Arlong. If he betrays you, we'll step in and kick his ass.", the teenager explained.
"O-okay, I'll do so.", she said, stepping off the ship as it arrived in Cocoyasi.
…
A good hour has been, since Nami left to get the money. Luffy and his nakama along with Johnny and Yosaku waited in front of Arlong Park, the Arlong Pirates' headquarters and Arlong's residence. Few seconds later, the ginger girl finally made it to Arlong Park with a cart full of money, gold and treasures. "It's here!", she exclaimed, panting heavily. It appeares that she pulled the cart all the way to the fishman. "Your money is finally here. Now let go of Cocoyasi."
"Shahahahaha! SHAHAHAHAHA!", Arlong laughed, betraying Nami who felt like falling into the ground. "Captain Nezumi, I think you want to look at this!", he viciously said, pointing at her crying slave's treasure worth 100 Million Berry.
"Chi chi chi, what do we have here?", the rat-themed Marine spoke. "Gold and money worth 100 Million Berry, stolen from various pirates. A wonderful thing to be confiscated."
A certain strawhat felt fury build up in him, just like the ones around him. 'Arlong, betraying and making my nakama cry was your biggest mistake. Now you're going to face my full wrath, you too Nezumi!', the boy thought before he smashed Arlong Park's gate open with one hand.
"Who are you?", Arlong roared, looking at the 6 human males walking into Arlong Park.
"Your worst nightmare.", Luffy simply answered, before shifting his gaze at Nezumi.
"YOU CORRUPT BASTARD!", he yelled as he punched the corrupt Marine hundreds of meters away using 'gomu gomu no pistol'.
The Marines under Nezumi reacted by shooting at Luffy, only for the rubber man to repel the bullets back, injuring but not killing them.
"Who are you?", Arlong repeated, this time more severely. "What do you want?"
"Who I am? Your worst nightmare, future Pirate King Monkey D. Luffy. What I want? Make you pay for what you did to Nami.", the black-haired answered, so calm yet so threatening.
"Shahahahahaha! A mere human can't become Pirate King, stop dreaming!"
"Then I shall show you what one mere human can do. Gomu Gomu no Muchi!", he exclaimed, knocking out all of Arlong's regular men.
"Zoro, you take that octopus, don't kill him though, Sanji, you take on that guy with those weird arms, and Usopp, you take on big-lips.", the pirate captain ordered, addressing Hatchan/Hachi, Kuroobi and Chew.
"Oi, understand!", the three Straw Hats spoke, making their way to said fishmen.
"What about us?", Johnny and Yosaku asked in a unison.
"Do whatever you want, I'm not your captain.", Luffy answered.
"Grrrrr! You think you can come here and challenge me?", Arlong yelled. "I'm gonna show you who the boss is!"
"I'm waiting, Arfong!", Luffy spoke, teasing Arlong even more.
"You pathetic human, you'll wish you've never been born! Shark on Darts", he shouted, attacking Luffy at high speed.
"Gomu gomu no Tsuchi!", the strawhat exclaimed, grabbing a flying Arlong, then spinning him around and crashing him into the ground.
"Ow! That hurt, you bastard!", Arlong roared, now seeing Luffy as a threat.
"I'm gonna hurt you even more, but that's not even close to how you hurt Nami's feelings!", Luffy yelled at him.
"Screw her feelings, all she has to do is draw maps for me."
"Care to repeat that?". The 17-year-old glared at Nami's oppressor like a psychopath.
"I said, SCREW her feelings, all she has to do is draw maps for me."
With that said, Arlong sealed his fate. Luffy raised his fist for his next attack. "GOMU GOMU NO RIFLE!"
Upon impact, the sawshark-fishman flew right into Arlong Park, bleeding and with a broken nose. Surprisingly, he managed to stand up after that devastating attack from Luffy. Following that, his eyes turned red and blind rage overtook his healthy mind. "You stupid human!", he screamed, powerful enough to create soundwaves capable of crumbling stones. "This isn't possible, you cannot win against a superior fishman!"
"Superior means stronger, right?", Luffy mocked him, enraging the tyrant even more. "If you're really so strong, why did you came to the weakest sea to terrorize helpless people on an island without a Marine base, Armgong?"
"SHUT UP HUMAN, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!", he uncontrollably screamed, reaching for a saw-like blade resembling his nose."
"Oh no!", Nami exclaimed in fear. "He only gets out Kiribachi if he wants to wreck everything, watch out Luffy!"
For two reasons, one of them being dodging Kiribachi, Luffy jumped into a room in Arlong Park. Arlong followed him of course. Inside, Arlong decided to taunt Luffy in return. "You see this room? This is where I forced Nami to draw my maps.", he proudly stated.
"I see.", Luffy calmly spoke, yet hiding a storm. "Then I must destroy the room Nami hates the most!"
And so he began ripping maps in two, one by one. Arlong watched furiously as a boy destroyed his work that lasted ten years. "What are you DOING!?", the furious fishman screamed, attempting to kill the human with Kiribachi.
Luffy reacted quickly. "Armament.", he muttered. Before hitting him, Luffy caught Kiribachi with his haki-covered teeth and bit the first of the six saw teeth in pieces, Arlong watching in disbelief. 'How can a human bite through Kiribachi? No, no, I'm going insane!'
The strawhat then turned his gaze to Arlong and told him to look outside.
"Humpf! You won't get away with this! Takoashi Kiken!", Hatchan exclaimed, charging at Zoro in front of Arlong Park.
"Santoryu: Tatsu Maki!", Zoro called, defeating the octopus-fishman.
"Hachi!", Arlong shouted, mourning his friend's defeat against Zoro.
Meanwhile, Sanji was fighting Kuroobi. "Hyakumaigawara Seiken", Kuroobi exclaimed, trying to punch Sanji.
However, the fighting cook blocked it. "Poitrine!", he shouted, followed by 'Gigot', and finally 'Mouton Shot!'. Kuroobi was bested by Sanji's leg attacks. After his victory, he lighted himself a cigarette.
"Kuroobi!", Arlong shouted, not capable to understand how his strongest man was defeated by a human.
And then, unexpectedly, Usopp came running from the woods. "I won! Mighty Usopp defeated a fishman!", the sniper joyfully declared, impressing everyone.
"Even Chew!", the sawshark shouted in disbelief.
"And now to you!", Luffy called. "Watch how I destroy Arlong Park."
"YOU INFERIOR PIECE OF SHIT, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!", the red-eyed fishman pirate screamed in rage.
"You might be enraged because I'm destroying what you worked for in 10 years, but I'll never forgive you for making my nakama cry!", the pirate captain stated, standing firm and tall like iron.
"Shark on Tooth!", Arlong yelled as he charged at Luffy faster than ever.
"Armament!", Luffy exclaimed, covering his full body in Armament haki. "Gomu Gomu no Ono!"
This meant the end for Arlong Park. After the teenager executed his attack by stretching his foot out of the roof, breaking it in the process, then bringing it down crashing on the floor, the yellow mansion known as Arlong Park crumbled like a house of cards and the crashing sound roared through the night. After some moments of silence, a haki covered Luffy emerged from the rubble. "Nami, I can't erase all of your pain, but I managed to lower it a bit."
Emotionally touched, the girl ran into her hero's arms and cried, happy he's safe.
'Oh Nami, if you just always were so lovable and not bitchy like most time.'
…
Learning about Arlong's defeat, the people of Cocoyasi arranged a fiest for the Straw Hat Pirates. Sanji flirted with the women, Usopp told kids about his 'adventures', Zoro drank his sake, and Nami and Luffy had a talk with Cocoyasi's mayor Genzo. At first it was about the village's gratitude, then it got to business.
"If you hang the these flags on not only this village, but also on the other villages on this island and its neighbor islands, you'll be protected by us, the Straw Hats."
"Hold on a second. We can't be protected by a pirate, and besides, we've been occupied by pirates and suffered greatly under them.", Genzo complained. "Nami's mother was one of many casualties here."
Nami looked sad at first, but then smiled. "Uncle Genzo-san, Bellemère may have died, but Luffy here has made me believe not all pirates are bad. He's a good guy, please, trust him."
"Yes, Nami is my nakama. I wouldn't do anything that would hurt her.", Luffy said, smiling at the mustached man with scars all over his face.
"Okay, I'll accept. Coming back to Nami, boy, if you ever make her cry, I'll hunt you down and kill you.", the mayor warned the pirate.
"As I said before, I'd never do anything that would hurt her.", Luffy told him once again.
Genzo smiled in relief. "Good, let's go eat something."
…
The next day after some more eating and loading resources on the ship, the Straw Hats went on to set sail again. Johnny and Yosaku decided to stay in Cocoyasi, located somewhere on the Conomi Islands, which were all Straw Hat territories now. Oddly, the female navigator struggled to get on board.
"Nami, what is it?", Luffy asked, concerned about the well-being of his nakama.
"You know,", she began, "when you finally get your home back, you have a hard time leaving."
Luffy perfectly understood what she meant. 'I know exactly what gets her on the ship, she can't resist that.', he thought, chuckling inside. "Your 100 Million Berry is on Merry!"
"Don't you dare touch my treasure!", she yelled with shark teeth, running on Merry.
Upon the pirate ship, Luffy noticed her Arlong Pirates-tattoo was missing. "Hey Nami, can you tell me where your tattoo is?"
"I told a doctor to remove it, nobody needs that kind of memory.", she explained, smiling just as bright as Luffy sometimes.
"Haha, right!", Luffy agreed, followed by shared laughter between the Straw Hats. 5 minutes later, they set sail, waving their hands at their new friends.
…
In a Marine base somewhere in the East Blue, Captain Nezumi, sitting in his office, called the Marine headquarters. He wanted to request a high bounty on Monkey D. Luffy, his new enemy.
"Hello, Marine headquarters? Nezumi here. Listen, I demand a high bounty on a new dangerous pirate. His name is Monkey D. Luffy. I've looked up what he's done so far and you'll not believe this, he's defeated…
…
Bonus arc
"'Iron Mace' Alvida, 'Axe-hand Morgan', Buggy the Clown, 'Kuro of a hundred plans', 'Foul-play' Krieg, and now Arlong the Saw. Not to mention the minor criminals and Marines he's defeated or assaulted, like Nezumi. This kid is a bigger threat than I thought. We can't let vermin like this roam around freely.", a Rear Admiral who visited 153rd Branch said, looking at Luffy's wanted poster.
Wanted: Dead or Alive: Monkey D. Luffy, 80.000.000 Berry
Coby, who was a chore boy in 153rd Branch along with Helmeppo who he had befriended, saw Luffy's wanted poster and had mixed feelings about this.
"Helmeppo-san, is that good or bad? It shows that Luffy is pretty strong, but won't the Marines hunt him down with such a high bounty like that?", he asked his friend.
"Bad I guess, he's a newbie with a high bounty, which means the higher-ranked will try to get his head as soon as possible to eliminate the 'young threat'.", Helmeppo answered.
"But I don't want him to be hunted by so many of us, he's my friend.", the pink-haired said.
"Are you crazy?", Helmeppo quietly exclaimed, putting his hand in front of his friend's mouth. "If you tell the Marines your friend is a pirate, you'll be thrown out faster than you can say 'pirate'!"
"So so, who's your friend?"
Coby and Helmeppo looked behind. Marine hero Vice Admiral Garp, who visited 153rd Branch for fun, was kneeing behind them. He heard every single word of their conversation.
"AAAAAAH!", the two screamed, trying to run away before having the shit beat out of them by the old man.
Later that day, in their cabin, Helmeppo and his friend had a serious conversation. "No way, you can't actually want HIM to train us!", the blond exclaimed, opposing his roommate's idea.
"But Helmeppo-san, Garp-san is a Marine hero and considered to be as strong as the Fleet Admiral. If he trains us, we can become stronger and can stop mopping the floors and stuff like that.", the boy with glasses answered, defending his idea.
"Meh, do what you want, I'm not in it.", Helmeppo stated.
Coby started doing some push-ups, one by one. Having nothing to do, the egghead grew bored and decided to train too.
For the next month or so, the chore boy duo trained and fought with Garp every day. Despite the huge difference in power, the two new Marines improved themselves every day: For each day passing, they stood 3 seconds longer agains Garp. But in the end, the Vice Admiral beat both of them without dropping a sweat.
"It's hopeless.", Helmeppo muttered, bruises covering his body.
"You were right, we can't beat him.", Coby spoke, at the same state as his friend. "He's just too strong."
"I thought you wouldn't give up like that!", Garp said, punching the two on top of their heads with his fists as he appeared behind them.
"V-vice Admiral Garp!", the now weak duo stuttered.
"I decided to take you with me to the Marine headquarters, you lil' brats."
"Awesome!", the chore boys yelled at each other, filled with joy.
"But", Garp spoke, "you will wish you can go back to your mommies, your training will be worse than hell."
Nonetheless, the two decided to go with the hero to fulfill their dreams: becoming good Marines.
Alright, that was it for this chapter. Don't worry, I didn't do a timeskip, in the next chapter I'll turn back time. Speaking of time, time's almost up for my version of the East Blue Saga. Stay hyped for the Grand Line, it'll come soon. Bye bye!