Sage-of-forbidden-arts: That's okay. I'd love to see more reviews from you, but work is important, so I completely understand. As for the chapters coming out quickly, well I've just been in a hardcore One Piece mood lately, so I've been playing Pirate Warriors 3 and writing more chapters for this story. Thank you, I'm glad you liked my latest chapters. Okay, good. You liked the kissing scene huh? That's good, I was a little worried people wouldn't like it. And I do look forward to more of this story, as I love writing it, and I love all you guys too, cause you're awesome. :)
pipi96: Arlong's going to pay, that is for sure. As for Nojiko joining the crew, well...you'll have to wait and see. But I'll tell you this, counting Nami and Robin, I plan on having three females on the Straw Hat crew.
Johnny Spectre: Well that's true, One Piece can certainly be unpredictable. I'm not into Bleach, so I wouldn't know anything about that. As for Luffy awakening his haki again...well...you'll just have to wait and see, now won't you? Very good prediction regardless though.
F-ckthesystem125: I know, sad flashbacks just really get to you, especially ones about the crew. I am also glad some of the fishmen from Arlong's crew are gone, the damn bastards. I intend to.
Ranger Station Charlie: I know right? Oh definitely. I'm glad Nami is back to normal as well.
Chop2NV: Why thank you! And yeah, there wasn't any point in dragging their reunion out into another chapter. Yeah, I liked the way the chapter ended as well. Beyond furious? That's an understatement! XD
GTI: No problem. You are quite welcome! I am more than glad to share my imagination with you guys! Well I'm happy you didn't give up on my story then. And as for the coming changes, I hope they meet yours and everyone else's expectations. Yeah...sorry about that. Believe me I didn't want her to die either, but I felt it was necessary for the story. You have every right to be angry with me and Garp for this, so I don't blame you. As for the chapter, glad you liked it and yeah, Luffy can be very scary when angry. I really do like your opinion on Robin, and will, like I said before, probably keep her unpaired for this story, as that's what is beginning to feel right to me.
You're excited for my harem story? Well there's going to be a few of them, different premises, different girls. Nami and Robin will always be a part of the harem though, they're just Luffy's girls as far as I'm concerned, especially Nami. I was actually thinking of beginning work on one of the harem stories soon. I have three of them in mind. One involves Luffy being raised by Whitebeard, another involves traumatic events that lead Luffy to becoming a much darker person, and then there's the one that involves slavery and Boa Hancock. Which one do you think I should start working on?
As for what Luffy will yell when the battle with Arlong is over, I'm still undecided on the matter. I can understand wanting to see more of Vivi, she's a cool character. But no, she won't be joining the crew in this story, I'm sorry. As for the new member of the crew, there are actually two of them. One is male, the other is female. One will join pre timeskip, the other will join post timeskip. As for how big of roles they played in Cannon? Well they had decent sized roles, not too important, but not too unimportant either. No problem, just glad to have you around.
FallenAlgon: Huh, I didn't think about that until just now, good point. As for the chapter, I'm glad you liked it. And thank you, I always do my best to keep everyone in character, with little tweaks to said character because of the different way they grew up.
Darkangel665: I'm really glad you liked it. And I have to agree, the Arlong Arc is when I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is gonna be one of my animes.'. It's not the only arc I'll watch multiple times though. There are several I enjoy very much and wouldn't mind watching again and again, cause they're just so awesome.
Now then, the third chapter of the Arlong arc is here! Please read, enjoy and review.
Nami would have been completely racked with guilt and self loathing at the current point in time, as she had just finished stealing from everyone in Cocoyashi village, looting any and all berris in their possession, but she didn't. This was because she had been able to scrape together two million berris from the broke village, which combined with the ninety eight million she already had in her possession formed the hundred million she so desperately needed to free the village and herself. In spite of the circumstances, she couldn't help but smile real wide, as she made her way back to her house. "It's about to be over, this eight year long nightmare is about to be over. All I have to do is give him the berris and treasure I've collected, and it'll all be done. He'll leave and everyone will be safe. And...I'll finally be able to set sail with Luffy, as his navigator."
"What are we gonna do Arlong? Nami said she'd have the money to pay you today!" One of the fishmen told their captain worriedly.
"Oh no! You can't let her go Boss!" Another fishman said.
"Yeah, what about the maps and charts she draws for us!? We can't find anyone better than her!" A third fishman added, sounding frantic as he did.
"It would be a very bad move to let someone like her go." Chu put forth, much more calmly than the other fishmen.
"I don't like the conniving woman, but she is quite valuable." Kuroobi admitted.
Hatchan opened his mouth to protest Arlong letting Nami go as well, but then a certain memory replayed itself in his mind...
An eight year old Nami sat in the corner of the bottom floor of Arlong park, her knees pulled to her chest as she cried her eyes out, her head down so she didn't have to see this place.
Hatchan had been sent to retrieve her, which was why he was the only one in the room at the moment, just entering a moment ago. "Little girl..." He tried to remember her name, as he never liked it when he wasn't called by his name. It took a moment or so, but he managed to remember it. "Nami..."
The little girl raised her head, allowing the octopus man to see the ugly bruise on her face, courtesy of Arlong, as well as her teary and fear filled eyes. "Please...please don't hurt me." She whimpered.
Hatchan felt weird when she said that, he wasn't sure what it meant, all he knew was that he didn't like it. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." He told her, as he made his way toward her.
Despite what he said, she curled tighter into herself as he approached, her sobs growing louder as he did. "Why are you so sad?" Hatchan asked her simply.
If he had asked her at any other time, she would have been offended, as she was sure he knew damn well why she was sad. But, so fearful and unsure, she answered him. "I don't wanna be here...I hate it. He marked me with this tattoo as if it was a brand. It's like I'm his slave, his property. I-I-I-I-" She tried to keep going, but her sobs were coming too fast, and were too hard, causing her body to shake and her words to become unintelligible.
As those words left her mouth, Hatchan felt like he was physically struck. "Slave...property..." Tears began to well up in his eyes then as well.
He closed the distance between them, knelt down so they were eye level, and spoke, "No one should feel like that. That tattoo is supposed to be something to be proud of, not something to hate and feel sad about. I'm sorry that you feel that way."
She met his eyes, still crying, as she responded. "H-he said i-t to-too. They all say i-it. They act l-like I'm a p-pet. I h-ha-hate it here. I w-wan-wanna g-go ho-home!"
Hatchan's tears began to fall then as well. "You're not a pet to Hachi. I want to be your friend."
That didn't seem to make the young girl feel any better, as she continued to cry.
"Hachi...is sorry." He whispered beneath his breath.
After remembering that, Hatchan's protest died in his throat, as he didn't want Nami to be sad anymore.
"I know, but what can I do boys? After all, I never break a promise when it comes to money." Even as Arlong said this, shrugging his shoulders as he did, a sinister smirk crossed his face.
All the other fishmen didn't know what their captain had up his sleeve, but that smirk told them all they needed to know. All of them smiled in return, including Kuroobi and Chu, Hatchan however couldn't help but frown.
The entirety of Cocoyashi village was gathered at the docks, as a marine vessel had just dropped anchor there. Thirteen marines deboarded the ship, one leading the other twelve.
The man leading the others had somewhat pale skin, a brown patch on his chin and literal whiskers growing out of his face. He wore a greyish blue button up coat that went down to his feet, with a black belt and blue shoulder pads. He also wore a marine cap with rat ears attached to it.
Once off the boat, they were approached by Genzo. "Marines? Why are you here?"
"We're here for the one called Nami." The whiskered marine told him.
"Nami? Why?" The pinwheel wearing man asked.
"Please, take us to her." The highest ranking marine of the group said, ignoring the man's question.
Frowning, the scarred man did as the marine asked, knowing it wouldn't be good if he went and interrogated him.
As he led them through the village, all of the residents stared at them, wondering what was going on.
"So what do the marines want with Nami?" Genzo inquired, hoping he would get an answer this time.
"Your job is to lead the way, quietly I might add." The whiskered marine told him.
Genzo got the hint and shut his mouth, his frown deepening as he did.
Nami was just preparing to leave her house to get Arlong and bring him to the hundred million berris she had gathered, but was stopped in her tracks once she stepped outside, as there was thirteen marines plus Genzo heading her way. "Marines? And what's Genzo doing with them?"
They stopped a few feet from her, as the highest ranking of the bunch snickered for some unknown reason. "Are you the pirate thief known as Nami?"
"What if I am?" She questioned.
"Then I would wish to speak with you." He answered.
"Care to introduce yourself first?" Nami questioned, a bit of attitude present in her tone.
He snickered again at that. "As you wish. I am Marine Captain Nezumi of the sixteenth branch."
"And, what do you want with me?"
That seemed to be enough of an answer to whether she was Nami or not to him. "Marine sources have revealed that you have quite a large sum of treasure that you've stolen from pirates. The government hereby confiscates all said property. It is required that you comply immediately."
Nami's eyes widened a bit at that. "No way..."
Snickering once more, the man spoke again. "Sorry, perhaps you didn't hear me the first time. The government hereby confiscates everything you've stolen, it is required that you comply immediately, do you understand?"
Nami's eyes returned to normal, as a false cocky smirk crossed her face, as she knew how to deal with this. "Isn't that something? You won't bring a brutal gang of pirates to justice, but you will shake down a lowly sneak thief. That's so very noble. You must be very passionate about your duties." She stated mockingly. That didn't seem to bother him, so she tried another route. "I'm only gonna warn you once, I'm one of the leaders of the Arlong Pirates. If you mess with me, Arlong won't sit by quietly."
Snickering for the fourth time since he had arrived, Nezumi replied. "Silly girl, who do you think I am? Do you honestly think you can intimidate me?" He asked her. After a moment and no answer, he threw his arm out, gesturing to the immediate area, as he barked an order at his men. "Find the stolen goods!"
As the dozen marines he brought with him began moving about the area, looking for said stolen goods, Nami barked at them as well, "Don't move!", as if they would heed her order. They of course didn't. "Stop!" She yelled at them. Once more they didn't listen.
Seeing as they weren't listening, she pulled the three pieces of her special wooden staff out of her shirt, where she had been hiding them, quickly assembled the thing, and proceeded to knock two of the marines out cold, socking one in the gut with one end of the staff and whacking another upside the head. "I said stop!"
As those two hit the ground, unconscious, Nami turned around and stomped toward Nezumi. "Do you really think this is what the Marines should be doing right now!? The Arlong Pirates are murderers! They've destroyed entire cities and you're doing nothing! He's ruling over this island and trampling over peoples lives! You'd ignore Arlong's atrocities to steal from a thief, is that what you stand for!?"
Nezumi snickered his mouse like snicker once again at that. "Big talk from a filthy criminal. Continue the search men." He told his men, so they wouldn't stop looking.
"Every person on this island has been waiting for the Marines to come and help them for years! How dare you pass them by and come here searching for money!" Nami shouted at the marine captain.
"Captain, this tangerine orchard seems a little suspicious." One marine reported.
"Dig it up, the whole thing if need be." Nezumi told him.
"Yes Sir." The marine grabbed a shovel, several of his fellows doing the same.
"Keep your filthy hands off of Bellemere's tangerine orchard!" Nami cried, as she turned and rushed the same marine who had said something about the orchard in the first place, attacking him with her bo staff from behind, knocking him to the ground, unconscious like his two friends before him.
Seeing two more stick their shovels into the ground, she charged them, hitting one over the back of the head and slamming the length of the staff into the other's gut, before bringing it up and clocking him in the jaw with it. This got the both of them on the ground and out cold, bringing the total of marines that are unconscious to five.
Turning she dashed forward, trying to get to some more of the marines, shouting as she did, "I won't let you take my money! That money's for...it's for..."
Genzo couldn't take it anymore, crying out in anger because of not being able to take anymore. "That poor girl's money is meant to save Cocoyashi Village! What gives you the right to take our salvation away from her!? Damn you!"
"My my, a mere village representative talking down to a marine captain, how bold." Nezumi remarked.
Nami turned to Genzo though, shocked at that he just said, it written all over her face. "Genzo...how'd you know about that?"
"I've always known Nami."
Her eyes widened at that, "What?"
"I couldn't believe what you had done. To join Arlong's crew after what he did for just for a bunch of money? It didn't make any sense. So I confronted Nojiko about it later. Since then, everyone has known that you stayed with the Arlong Pirates so that you could save the village. But we all agreed we'd never tell you that we knew, because if you ever thought the villages were placing their hopes on you, we knew you would never leave his gang for fear of letting us down."
"That can't be..." Nami said aloud, more to herself than anyone else.
"Now hold on a minute, just what are you trying to say here? Are you telling me that the villagers are thieves and that we should arrest every one of them? Is that what you're saying?" Nezumi questioned, even though he knew damn well that wasn't what the mustached man meant at all.
"What he's saying is that every last one of us is fighting to survive! We have to fend for ourselves because we can't rely on support from you government people! So, if you're not going to protect our village, then get the hell out of here! And be quick about it, or Arlong'll sink your ship too!" Nojiko told the captain angrily, as he approached the scene from behind.
"Arlong will? I wouldn't be so sure." Nezumi said confidently, looking back at the blue haired young woman as he did. After a moment, he looked back to his men, who were still looking for the treasure. "You still haven't found it?" He asked his men, his annoyance clear. "We're looking for a hundred million berris here, not a grain of rice!"
Genzo eyes widened at that, as what were the odds of them knowing the exact amount? "Hey you, how do you know how much there is?"
Nezumi's eyes went to the scarred man then, "Well, I don't know. I just have a hunch that that's the amount we're looking for." He smiled smugly then, after snickering for the umpteenth time.
Nami's eyes widened considerably at that, her breathing picking up pace a little bit, the same with her heart beat. "There's no way they could know that...no way unless..."
'Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!' As Arlong's laugh echoed in her head, Nami could only mutter, "It's him." Her grip on her staff tightening as she clenched her free hand into a fist, she spoke up, "Tell me, it was Arlong that sent you wasn't it!?"
"Course not, I wouldn't do a pirate's dirty work, that'd be wrong. I'm just a public servant dealing with theft the way any government worker would." He answered, his smug smile widening as he did.
"You corrupt marine scumbag!" Genzo spat.
"The Marines have stooped to being nothing but pirate cronies!" Nojiko shouted.
Nami bit her bottom lip hard, as she tried to keep from screaming, her anger turning into rage as she realized Arlong had betrayed her without a doubt.
"Sir, I found it!" One of the marine flunkies called.
"Good, good, now take me to it." He ordered.
Nami, Nojiko and Genzo could only watch, eyes wide, as the man went to the spot that had been dug up, to where a large coffin like box lie. Removing the lid revealed on the treasure and berris inside, most of which was stained in blood. Nezumi laughed rather than snickered at the sight of it. "Incredible, I must say I'm impressed you've managed to gather this much treasure." The rat like man said, as if Nami would care for a compliment from him.
"The money's all ragged and bloody." One marine commented.
"No matter, money's money." Nezumi told the marine, before snickering his rat like snicker. "Thirty percent of this is all mine." He thought to himself.
"Don't touch that." Nami commanded them. "Don't touch that." No response, so she began moving toward them. "Don't touch that." She repeated, though it didn't matter. "Stop it, don't touch that." Nezumi just grinned his nasty grin at her, not obeying her command in the slightest. "STOP IT!" She cried, beginning to dash towards the man as she did.
"Nami!" Nojiko and Genzo quickly rushed after her, until they managed to get where the latter could grab her by her wrist, and the former could get out in front of her, grabbing her by the shoulder as she did to try and make her stop. At the same time, Nezumi had drawn a flintlock pistol, which he aimed directly at them with and proceeded to fire a single round.
With her back to it, Nojiko didn't even see it coming, as the bullet hit her and tore through her flesh, coming out of her front side only a moment later, falling to the ground as it did. She gasped, as blood began to flow from the hole in her shoulder, before she fell to the ground, passing out from shock.
Nami, no longer fighting Genzo, dropped to her knees, no breath to be found in her lungs as she did. "N-No-N..." Suddenly she could breathe again, as she cried out, "NOJIKO!"
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku were all in Cocoyashi village, more specifically inside the clinic there, as Dr. Nako looked them all over. When he had seen the shape Sanji was in, most of his ribs being broken and all, he demanded they all come in for a check up the next day, so here they were.
Luffy was fine, as when the doctor took the bandages off his hands, they were already healed, since he could move nutrients to whatever part of his body that he needed them most at and all.
Zoro wasn't wearing any bandages and had no scars, so he was fine as well.
Johnny and Yosaku were warned a little, as they had a few mild cuts from their fight back on the Baratie that they hadn't gotten treated until now.
Usopp's wounds from back when he confronted Kuro were almost completely healed by now, the teen no longer even able to feel any pain from them. And according to the doctor, once they finished healing, there would be no scars left on his body, which the long nosed man was thankful for.
Sanji was reexamined, to see that he was already in a decent deal of better shape than he was the day before, healing faster than the normal human, though not fast enough to be qualified as inhuman.
"Alright, you're free to go."
"Thanks." They all said, as they exited the clinic, only to almost get rammed into by Nami, who came sprinting past them like a madwoman.
"Nami?" Luffy questioned, wondering if he had seen right, as he could have sworn he had seen a look of rage mixed with fear mixed with sorrow.
"What is that damn woman doing?" Zoro asked, not attempting hide his annoyance as he did.
"Wonder where she's running off to." Usopp said aloud.
"Do you guys think something might have happened?" Yosaku and Johnny asked together.
"Oh Nami, wait for me my dear!" Sanji called after her, his eyes changing into hearts as he did, preparing to run after her all the while, before Luffy grabbed him by the back of the collar and stopped him.
"Doctor, Doctor Nako!" Genzo shouted, as he carried a bleeding Nojiko bridal style into town.
Just as Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku rushed over, Doctor Nako came running out as well. "What is it, what happened!?"
"Nojiko's been shot!"
All the other villagers began to crowd around then.
"By who!?" Usopp asked, as Nako began to treat her.
"The Marines!" Genzo spat.
"I-I...I'm...alright." Nojiko tried to reassure them, though she couldn't even look them in the eye as she did.
"What, why would the Marines shoot Nojiko!?" Johnny questioned.
"She isn't a pirate, there's no reason for them to shoot her!" Yosaku pointed out.
"Arlong has been working with those damn marines." Genzo told them darkly.
"What!?" Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku and Nako all questioned disbelievingly.
"He's been lying to Nami for the last eight years, he never intended to honor their agreement at all." Genzo informed them.
Gasps were heard from most of the villagers at that, several of them muttering about how sorry they felt for Nami, uttering sympathies and angry remarks about Arlong.
"That..that sunuva bitch!" Both Johnny and Yosaku cried. "How dare he do that to our Big Sis!" And then, without warning, they took off in the direction of Arlong Park.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Usoop asked the doctor.
"Thankfully she was hit in the shoulder and not the chest, but if we're not careful, she could still die." He explained.
Usopp gulped nervously at that.
Zoro wore a scowl on his face, while Sanji looked worried for the blue haired woman.
Luffy...Luffy's face was blank.
As Nami sprinted toward Arlong Park, she felt her control slipping, she could only hold it together so long, this was growing to be too much. "Arlong! Arlong! Arlong, Arlong, Arlong! ARLONG!" She continuously shouted as she ran, memories playing in her head as she did...
Eight Years Ago...
Arlong sat in his chair, drinking some kind of alcohol from a glass, when he noticed the newest member of his crew standing a few feet away, staring at him, a mix of emotions in her eyes. "What's wrong little girl?"
She didn't answer, didn't move, she didn't even blink. She almost looked dead, except for the very slight expression on her face.
"I bet it's the village, you want it left alone, don't you?" She slightly nodded her head at that.
"Then how about this, let's make an agreement okay?" He offered.
"An agreement?" She inquired, her eyes not flickering nor her face changing it's expression.
"That's right. Gather up one hundred million berris and then bring it to me, do so and I will let your village go, in addition to giving your freedom." He told her.
"Promise?" She asked, still not showing any kind of signs of movement.
"I promise. And I'm the kind of fishman who would rather die than break an agreement concerning money. And I don't even care how long it takes you, I will honor our agreement." He swore to her.
Seven Years Ago...
Nami sat and watched as Arlong talked with the captain of the pirate crew that had come to the Conomi islands to plunder whatever they could from the villages. Upon arrival though, the sawshark fishman had let him know this was his domain, and the captain, not being an idiot, agreed to the talks the he had proposed. Which was why they sat in Arlong Park, drinking and conversing. As the captains of the two crews did that, their crew lounged about, waiting for both sides to finish.
The pirate captain's crew was talkative, speaking about the treasure they had looted from the previous island they had visited, which was loaded on their ship and completely unguarded at the moment. They also wondered aloud to one and other how much of the take their captain could persuade the shark man to give them, but that didn't matter to the young girl, as all she could focus on was the first thing they said. "Their ship has treasure on it and they left it completely unguarded..."
Getting to her feet, she wandered around for a minute or so, before slipping out of Arlong Park and taking off toward the docks, where the pirates ship was anchored at. The villagers stared at her as she passed them, before getting to the pirates ship and beginning to scale it, it taking a minute or so, but was manageable since the rope for their anchor was so thick, allowing her to climb up it.
Once on deck, she looked around, before heading down into the ship, going from room to room searching for it. Only problem is, even after a good fifteen minutes, she couldn't find anything, not even a single berri. "Where would they keep their treasure?" She asked herself, slowly becoming frantic, as they could be back any minute.
Throwing caution to the wind, she began to tear the inside of the ship apart, throwing everything that wasn't valuable that she got her hands on, as she went from room to room again, looking for that treasure they had spoken of. With this method, when she reached that captain's cabin, she soon found herself a big sack of treasure. Opening it and looking inside, she saw a whole bunch of gold doubloons. "I don't know how much this is, but I'll find that out later. Now I just need to get it to my house."
With that she dragged it up onto the deck, before throwing it off the ship onto the dock. As she prepared to climb down however, she noticed the pirates who owned the very same ship she was on were running her way, looking scared and angry. Moving faster, she managed to get halfway down the ship, when they all began to climb on board, yelling at each other that they had get out of here and never come back, and that if they didn't do so in the next two minutes, Arlong would kill them.
Not even bothering to notice her, they knocked her off as the last of them finished climbing up, quickly raising anchor and setting sail, intent on getting away from here and never coming back.
Hitting the deck after a ten foot drop hurt yes, but Nami managed to keep her cry of pain to herself, as she forced herself to her feet. Looking over to see the bag of treasure, she grabbed ahold of it and began to drag it back to her house.
Four Years Ago...
Nami sat in a tavern, a very rowdy tavern, in a village near the end of the Conomi Islands, where a group of pirates who had finally managed to work out a deal with Arlong were partying it up. They were throwing back mugs of booze like it was water, as they tried to get into every girl that was there pants, while also fighting amongst themselves about some kind of bet or something along those lines. Their captain was the worst, as he kept firing off a pistol whenever he wanted something done, most likely only doing so because he was so drunk. He was an average looking man, with dirty hair and swashbuckler clothing. He was awfully full of himself as well, quite proud of his five million berri bounty.
Nami didn't care for any of it, all she was doing here was waiting for the opportune moment to sneak out and steal all the treasure they had on their ship, the men having just been bragging about the fact that it was full of treasure a few minutes ago.
Another ten minutes and she slipped out, heading for the docks. She found their ship easily enough, scaling it and climbing aboard, taking a quick look around above deck to make sure no one was there, before heading down into the ship. She searched just about every room, but all she was able to find was a single treasure chest full of gold doubloons. Nothing special, but it would do. "Damn pirates and their bravado and lies." She said to herself, as she forced her arms to lift the chest off the floor into her grasp.
Once she was sure she had a good hold on it, she went up top to the deck, crossing it to where she could drop the chest onto the docks. With that done, she climbed down herself, before opening the chest once more, just to assure herself that the gold wasn't fake, as if they had been lying about it being full of treasure, maybe they had been lying about having any at all. Once she was sure it was real, she moved to close the lid, when she realized she saw something under some of the doubloons. Moving some of them, she found a sack. "Well, this would make hauling it easier."
With that she began shoving fistfuls of the doubloons into the sack, until it was bloated and the chest was empty. "There we go, this makes getting away much easier."
"Is that so?"
The twelve year old's eyes shot to who said that, to see an angry, drunk pirate captain, and a bunch of angry, drunk pirates behind him. "Oh crap." She squeaked, before turning and bolting in the opposite direction. "Get her!" The captain ordered, as he and his entire crew began chasing her. There was no need to though, as when she turned a corner, the last of the man's crew was there waiting, and before she could turn around, they grabbed her, throwing her to the ground, the sack landing a few feet to her right.
She tried to get up, but was met with a boot to the gut, knocking her back to the ground, as well as knocking the wind out of her, causing a small coughing fit. "We got her boss!"
By the time the coughing fit ceased, the captain and the rest of the men had caught up. "Good, now let's teach the little thief a lesson."
With that he clocked her in the face with a right hook, as she had been trying to stand up and had gotten to her knees. Hitting the ground once more, there was now blood dribbling down the left corner of her mouth, in spite of that and the pain from the blows, she didn't let her pain be known, as she tried to get to her feet once more.
Not deterred by her seeming lack of pain, the captain gave a good jab to the gut, causing her to yelp in pain, as she hit the ground once more. And once her pain had been vocalized, it was like blood in the water, as the rest of the crew began to beat on her as well, laughing as they got her to shout, yell and cry in pain.
This continued for a good five minutes, the villagers taking notice at this point. As one of them came to intervene, he was shoved back by the pirates, said pirates beginning to shout as they pushed the man, causing most of the to look over to see what was going on. Seeing that as her chance, she forced herself to her feet, grabbed the sack of treasure and took off. "Hey!" One of them called after her, just barely missing her as they tried to grab her by the wrist.
"The girl's getting away!"
"After her then!"
The bloodied and bruised twelve year old, who had a busted forehead and busted the back of her head, a bloody nose, half a mouthful of blood from having a few teeth knocked out, her arms, legs and face covered in purple bruises, continued to run as fast as she could, in spite of all the pain she was in. She had to get away from those pirates, or they would kill her, there was no doubt about that.
They chased her out of the town into a forest, running after her without stop, wanting their treasure back and to make her pay. This chase lasted for a good few minutes, before they came to the land gate of Arlong Park, where she just managed to pass through it before she tripped and hit the ground, the pirates nearly piling on top of her as she did.
"What is the meaning of this!?" Arlong growled.
"This little bitch stole our treasure, we're simply teaching her a lesson."
Arlong's scowl deepened at that. "I will not allow you to harm my map maker. She is my property, you will not so much as look at her without my permission!"
"Look we've got ourselves a nice little agreement, let's not ruin it. Just allow me to deal out the punishment for stealing our treasure to this brat, and then all will be good."
"You dare to act as if I owe you something!?" Arlong shouted, getting his fishmen brethren to come outside to see what was going on.
One of the pirates then pulled a knife, moving towards Nami as he did.
That's when Arlong let loose and he and his men killed all of them within a matter of a minute.
"And you, you damn girl! Don't you go ruining any more of my business deals, or else I'll destroy that little village of yours while I make you watch!" Nami, who was still on the ground, looked up at Arlong then as he said this to her, her eyes half lidded, when his foot rammed into her face, knocking her unconscious.
One Year Ago...
Nami sighed, as she drifted on a small sail boat big enough for three, the other two seats taken up by a very large chest of treasure. "I just had to get caught didn't I? Now I'll be stuck on this little thing for the next few hours."
She looked up into the sky then, watching as the clouds drifted, her course set so she didn't have to worry, unless the wind suddenly changed that is. Though that wasn't going to happen, so there wasn't any problems.
She continued to stare up into the sky, as her mind wandered and her thoughts drifted just like the clouds. Eventually, her mind found her favorite thing to think about, a certain straw hat boy. "I wonder what he looks like now? It's been seven years since I last saw him. I wonder if he's changed at all? I never got to write him, after all, when his first letter arrived and Arlong found out about it, he killed the bird that delivered the damn thing. I'm pretty sure that was the bird Fusha uses for messages, he probably doesn't even have a way to keep in contact with Zoro anymore."
A frown marred her face then. "Which means he's all alone again. Ace said he was leaving at seventeen, so Luffy's been without anyone to keep him company for a whole year now. I hope it's not hurting him too much."
Sighing once more, she spoke aloud to herself, "I wanna see him so badly. It sucks being love struck."
Her eyes caught the treasure chest then, the fifteen year old opening it to check on all the treasure inside, quite happy with the amount. "This is easily ten million berris, if not more. If I keep going at this rate, I can free Cocoyashi in a little over a year." She managed a small smile then. "Just wait for me a little longer Luffy, and then I'll be free.
"It was all a lie! All a fucking lie!" Nami shouted, as she closed in on Arlong Park.
Running inside, she called that bastards name. "Arlong!"
Arlong, Hatchan, Kuroobi and Chew all looked over at Nami then, as she stomped toward them. "Hmm? What seems to be the problem, oh skilled surveyor of ours, why the sour face?" Arlong inquired.
"Those marine maggots you keep on the pay roll stole every last berri I had!" She told him, coming right up to him and grabbing both sides of his his shirt as she pulled on it, her rage clear. "What happened to all that crap about dying before you'd ever break a promise when it comes to money!? Huh you bastard!?"
"Refresh my memory, how did I break that promise?" Arlong asked.
"Don't play dumb with me, I know that you teamed up with the Marines to-" She was cut off, as Arlong grabbed her by the face, not bothering to lift her up as he did, just making it to where she had no hope of saying anything else. "Just when did I break that promise? Speak up girl."
She couldn't of course, and Arlong and all his fishmen brethren, with the exception of Hatchan, began to laugh.
"Damn you! Damn you! DAMN YOU!" She cursed him in her head, fighting back tears as she did, her hands still on his wrist, trying to pull his hand away from her face.
"Too bad all your stolen money got stolen, that certainly is unfortunate. But a deal is a deal Nami. If you can't come up with one hundred million berris then both you and your village stay in my possession indefinitely. Well, you know the terms."
She managed to force her head up then, where her mouth was no longer covered by his hand, so she could curse at him. "You goddamn bastard!"
"Ahahahahahahahahah! It's only one hundred million berris, start saving again and you'll have it in no time!" He told her, full of messed up mirth.
His smile shrank a little, as he spoke again. "Or are you gonna run out on me?" He let her face go and grabbed her by her shirt then, so they could be eye to eye as he looked at her and continued speaking. "Listen, if you do that I'll kill everyone in that village, do you understand me? I'll even track down that little punk who sent you that letter and kill him too."
Nami smacked his hand away from her shirt then, the shark fishman allowing her to do so, before she turned and bolted out of Arlong Park. "Aw, running away so soon? Ahahahahahahahaha!
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp stood to the side as Genzo rallied all the villagers, including the now bandaged up Nojiko, all of whom were carrying weapons.
"Eight long years ago we promised we wouldn't live our lives in vain! No matter the pain or humiliation we endured under Arlong, we swore to fight the long fight so Nami could meet their demand! But they lied! They never intended to keep their end of the deal, instead they stole our only chance at freedom! So now, we should make those filthy fishmen pay for all the years they manipulated that kind young girl, am I right!?"
"Yeah, let's do this!"
"We were always ready to fight those monsters!"
"Let's get'em!"
"Time to show those lousy stinking fishmen what we're made of!"
"YEAH!"
"Everybody wait!" Nami shouted, as she came running into the village, slowing to a walk as everyone turned towards her. "Heh heh heh, calm down, it's not that much money, I can make it back in no time, I'll take care of it, don't worry. It'll be easy this time, I'm used to it, I'll be fine, just relax, everything is okay. Hey it's nothing compared to back then ya know? Come on everyone, I'm perfectly fine." She told them all, a false smile on her face as she did, trying so hard to get them to calm down.
"Zoro, Sanji, Usopp...wait outside the village." Luffy told them, all three of them nodding their heads and walking out of the area, passing by Nami as they did.
Before she could turn and convince them not to go anywhere either, Genzo stepped forward and pulled her into a one armed hug. "You've done enough, you have to know that there is no point now. You've struggled so hard carrying our lives on your back this whole time. I can only imagine that joining them must have been more painful than being stabbed through the heart. You fought very well."
"G-Genzo."
He let go of her then, taking a step back as he did. "Set yourself free from this village. Go and sail with your friends and forget about this place."
Nami looked pain stricken as he said that. "I-I-"
"Nami, do it!" Nojiko encouraged.
"No, I won't do it, I won't abandon you! I won't let you go!" She brandished a knife then, pointing it out towards Genzo as she did. "Just stay right htere! I'm not gonna let anyone else get hurt by these monster!" She told them vehemently. Taking a few shaky breaths in, as she continued to try and fight back tears, she then simply said, "You'll all die."
"We know that." Genzo stated, grabbing ahold of the blade of her knife as he did, gripping it so tight it caused his palm to begin to bleed.
"Nami, it's no use, we've made up our minds." Doctor Nako told the young girl.
"Get out of here and never come back!" Genzo shouted at her, before letting gof of the knife and turning to face everyone else. He unsheated the sword he carried, lifting it up the sky, as he commanded the rest of the villagers, "Move out!"
"We may not win, but we will give'em hell!" Nako proclaimed.
All the villagers cried their agreements, as every single one of them raced past Nami toward the direction of Arlong Park.
Once the entire angry mob had past by her, her grip on the knife slackened and it fell to the ground, as she followed after, collapsing to her knees, her eyes as wide as can be, her tears finally coming out and streaming down her face. "It was all for nothing...everything I did...all the pain...the anger...the shame...the sacrifice...it was all in vain. I'm right back where I started eight years ago." She muttered to herself, her voice so low she could barely even hear herself.
That's when Arlong's sick laughter rang through her head. "Ahahahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Her facial expression and eyes a mix of pain, rage and sorrow, Nami turned her head so she could see the tattoo of the Arlong Pirates jolly roger that was on her left arm, before grabbing at the flesh where it reside, clawing at it, looking ready to rip her skin off if it meant making it go away. That's when she remembered the knife.
Taking her hand off her arm, she snatched up the knife and wasted no time in proceeding to bury it to the hilt in the flesh of her arm where the mark, her brand sat at. "Arlong!" She yanked the knife out, blood flowing from the wound down her arm, thinning down to a trickle by the time it reached her bandaged hand, and sunk the blade back into her arm once more. "Arlong!" Ripping it out of her flesh once again, a bit of blood splattering onto the ground, she went on to stab herself again and again, over and over. Screaming at the top of her lungs as she did, "ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG! ARLONG!"
The next time she pulled the blade from her flesh however, a hand caught her by the wrist, preventing her from mutilating herself any further. Even though she looked back to see who it was, she already knew without a doubt who would be there. "Luffy..."
Luffy stood behind her, his face blank, bottling all his emotions until he heard the words he needed to hear from her. She dropped the knife, the thing clattering against the ground, as he let go of her hand and her hand dropped to her side. "I couldn't do it...I couldn't save anyone. The Marines nearly killed Nojiko, I nearly lost my sister. And now I am going to lose her. I'm going to lose her, Genzo, everyone. They all took off to fight Arlong and his fishmen...they'll all die because of that. I tried, I really did, I tried so hard. I suffered in silence, as I gathered every berri I could. But it was all for nothing. He won't ever let me go, ever. He'll keep me chained to him for the rest of my life. I won't ever be free."
Luffy crouched down then, so they could be eye level, Nami turning to face him, throwing her arms around him and burying her face into his chest, as she began to cry her eyes out, her sobs shaking her entire body because they were so strong. "L-Lu-Luffy, w-wha-what d-do I-I d-do!?" She begged of him.
He returned the embrace, pulling her tight to him, as she cried into his chest. He removed his hat from his own head then and placed it on hers, still holding her as he did.
While he didn't answer, Nami knew what she had to do anyway. He had been telling her all along, she just never listened. Pulling away so she could look him in the eyes, she said three simple words that she would later learn that when said can make the impossible possible. "Luffy...save me."
"Always." He told her, kissing her forehead as he did.
He proceeded to stand then, turning around and walking forward a few feet, stopping as he threw his head back and cried at the top of his lungs, "I'M GONNA MAKE YOU PAY, AAAAAARLOOOOOONG!"
Nami sat there on her knees, holding tightly onto Luffy's precious hat as it sat atop her head, watching as he made his way toward Arlong Park.
Zoro was sitting on a rock, Sanji was leaning back against a tree and Usopp was standing in wait, when all their eyes went to Luffy, as he made his way toward them, his deadly serious expression letting them know it was on. "We're going." He told them firmly.
"Right!" They all responded in unison, Zoro taking his bandanna off his arm and tying it around his head, Usopp lowering his own bandanna and placing his goggles over his eyes and Sanji lighting up another cigarette and loosening his tie, as they all proceeded to fall in line with their captain.
And as the four walked side by side in complete unison, the Straw Hat Pirates were officially born.
To Be Continued...
Alright, you know what comes next, the chapter we've all been waiting for. Now, unlike the previous few chapters, there is no way I'll be getting this next one out within just a day. It'll take a few days at the very least. I'm sure you guys understand. Also, if you have any title suggestions for the next chapter, the chapter where Luffy will finally takes down Arlong, please shoot them to me in a PM. Why? Because I have a chapter title for it already, except it's not too great. It's not bad or good, it's just...meh. And I can't seem to come up with a better title for it. Anyway, see you guys then.