AN: Sorry this has taken so long. One reason is that, like the latest updates to my other fanfics, this'll be a double update. The next chapter is mostly complete and will be released tomorrow.
"HAH!"
"HIYAH!"
Arlong sat on the sidelines of the Fish-Man District Branch Dojo, watching two teenage fish-men spar.
These brats are still making some rookie mistakes, Arlong thought. But they are getting better.
Eventually, one of the disciples knocked down the other with a decent palm strike. Then he helped up his fellow disciple.
"Well done," said Kuroobi, who was also standing off to the side. "But both of you could have done better than that! Sefo, you need to pay more attention to your stance, then you wouldn't have been knocked down so easily. Galma, you telegraph your attacks too much, that's why Sefo was able to dodge many of your attacks until the end."
The two disciples bowed. ""Thank you for your advice, Master Kuroobi!""
"Next!" Kuroobi ordered.
The two disciples walked over to the side, letting two new disciples take their place. Arlong groaned internally when he saw them.
These idiots? They're still flailing around like five-year-olds… it'll be a disaster to watch.
The only hope was for Kuroobi to give this pair good advice before they started sparring, and for them to pay attention to said advice. But Arlong's hopes were soon dashed.
"Now, I have something else I must attend to," Kuroobi said. He looked in Arlong's direction and grinned. "However, I will be leaving you in good hands!"
Arlong shot a furious glare at Kuroobi, whose smile didn't even falter.
Fuck… you…! Arlong conveyed with his expression. These brats are your responsibility!
Think of it as payback, Kuroobi answered, also using his expression, for leaving me and the others behind when you went after Decken!
Unfortunately, Arlong was already the target of fifty adoring gazes. His capture of Vander Decken IX had only made his reputation worse, especially in the district. Now, he had to be careful showing his face in public if he didn't want to be surrounded by a mob.
Now I know how Jinbe feels, and I don't envy it at all!
But Kuroobi walked away without another word. And Arlong couldn't just leave the disciples to spar on their own, they'd hurt themselves in their incompetence.
Arlong sighed. Even that obvious expression of annoyance didn't dull the adoration in their gazes.
"Alright, then I'm taking over until your real master gets back," Arlong said. He stood up and walked over to the two disciples currently in the middle of the floor. "You two, show me your stances."
The two disciples hurried to comply. Arlong almost rolled his eyes; he might not be as good at Fish-Man Karate as Kuroobi, but he could still see many flaws in their stances.
"You, keep your arms closer to your body, put your right foot forward more, and look at your opponent, not me!" Arlong said, correcting one disciple's stance with a firm hand. He moved on to the other disciple. "And you, your entire stance needs to be a bit lower, and you also need to space your feet further apart!"
When he was done, Arlong stepped back. "Alright. Begin!"
""YES, MASTER ARLONG!""
"And don't call me that, you hear me!?"
-ooo-
Arlong had to stay in the dojo for an entire hour before Kuroobi finally returned. When that happened, he attempted multiple times to punch the bastard in the face, but each and every punch was parried. Eventually, Arlong just stormed out of the dojo.
Next, Arlong decided to go back to the main island that comprised Fish-Man Island. Even if the district had improved greatly in recent months, there were still things that couldn't be bought there.
Arlong also wanted to see how some of his crew were doing. All of them had at least visited him at some point, with quite a few moving into the revived Fish-Man District permanently to help it rebuild. However, some had made homes for themselves in the main island, and it was these that Arlong wanted to visit.
Over the course of an hour, Arlong bought gifts and visited two of his old crew. One of them, Shioyaki, had now gotten engaged as well. The other, Pisaro, was still casting his net out, so to speak.
Everybody's settling in nowadays… Arlong thought after the second visit. After coming back home, they don't care about being pirates anymore… Not like I can blame them…
Anyway, Kaneshiro is next. He's living in Waterwheel Town now. With where I am now, I'll have to take a westbound Fish Bus…
Arlong walked towards the nearest Fish Bus stop and waited a few minutes. A Fish Bus arrived, and he stood aside to let three passengers alight…
…then he recognised one of those passengers. Someone who, even months later, inspired fear in Arlong.
A human man with short green hair who had three swords sheathed at his hip.
The Pirate Hunter glanced at Arlong, then his expression hardened. He immediately drew his three swords.
"Hey, Zoro, what are you doing!?"
A tiny reindeer mink hopped up to grab Roronoa Zoro's arm. Now that he had a longer look, Arlong recognised him too.
That's… "Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper!?
"Is this fish-man an old enemy of yours, Sir Zoro?"
The third passenger to have gotten off the Fish Bus was… a skeleton. A literal skeleton who somehow had a large afro of black hair, and was dressed in the suit and top hat of a gentleman. Arlong hadn't seen this one before, but he was clearly with the other two.
Are they recruiting everyone and everything they meet? Wait, that's not important right now!
"Let go, Chopper," Zoro said coldly. "Not sure how this bastard got here, but I'm dealing with him once and for all."
Arlong felt a chill run down his spine. Even if he'd grown much stronger in recent months, he didn't fancy his chances against one of the most infamous Straw Hats… especially since Zoro had clearly gotten stronger as well, judging from events in the newspapers.
"Look, this isn't the place for a fight," Arlong said, holding up his hands. "Can we at least take this somewhere else?"
Zoro glared at Arlong silently. Eventually, he sheathed all three of his swords.
"Fine. You get to live a bit longer."
-ooo-
The Sea Forest was a certain location to the northeast of Fish-Man Island. It was so named for the large amount of coral that grew here. It also had the alternate name of "Ship Graveyard", due to the many shipwrecks that were swept here by currents. Other notable features were a conventional graveyard and one of the rare and indestructible Poneglyphs. Finally, there was a bubble of air here, for the benefit of the occasional visitors from the surface.
None of that mattered at the moment, however. Arlong had chosen this place because it was the closest uninhabited area to where he'd previously been. If a fight broke out, there'd be minimal collateral damage.
…And it was seeming very, very likely that a fight was inevitable.
"How the hell'd you get here, Arlong?" said Monkey D. Luffy. The man's wanted posters might portray him with a broad smile, but there was none of that here. The Straw Hats' captain looked every bit as serious as the day he'd destroyed Arlong's ambitions.
"…Scum like you should've just let the Marines take you in," said Black Leg Sanji. He glared at Arlong with the air of someone wondering which leg to smash his head in with.
"W-Where's the rest of your crew!?" asked Usopp, someone inexplicably known to the world as "Sogeking". He looked and sounded afraid, consistent with how Chew had described him. And because of Chew's account, Arlong wasn't about to underestimate him.
Then there was Nami. She hadn't said a word to Arlong upon meeting him in the Sea Forest. She also didn't show the obvious anger of her crewmates. She just looked at Arlong with an expression devoid of any emotion.
Damn… she's scaring me more than the super-strong monsters in her crew!
What the hell should I say to her? What can I even say to her?
While Arlong was pondering this dilemma, the newer Straw Hats—those who'd joined after his defeat on the Conomi Islands—spoke up.
"I-I can't believe you were the one who hurt Nami so badly…" said Chopper. He lowered his head towards Arlong—not as a gesture of respect, but a gesture of hostility. "You're not getting away with that!"
From listening to interactions between Chopper and the other Straw Hats, Arlong had learned that the "pet" of the crew was actually a reindeer who'd eaten the Human-Human Fruit. He was also an adult by reindeer standards—the small stature in his hybrid form was just an individual quirk.
"It seems you were walking around casually in the town," said Nico Robin, a human woman with an oddly solemn atmosphere. "Just what is your reputation here?"
Arlong knew that Robin was someone the other Straw Hats had literally challenged the World Government to save. That was a feat only surpassed by Fisher Tiger's liberation of the Celestial Dragons' slaves… and the fact these could even be compared gave Arlong complicated feelings.
"Huh, he doesn't look all that tough," said Cyborg Franky, a man with flamboyant blue hair, a metal nose and swollen forearms. "Did you really have to call us all here?"
This wasn't actually Arlong's first time encountering a cyborg. They might be uncommon, but Arlong had been sailing for years, visiting many places and fighting countless opponents. That said, the cyborgs he'd fought had merely had individual limbs replaced.
This guy keeps setting off my sense for electricity, and he's not even that close to me… he must have steel in his entire body!
"Yohoho, he's much friendlier than I was expecting," said Brook, the oddly dapper skeleton with an afro. "So just what is your story, Sir Arlong?"
Arlong hadn't gotten the full picture on this one yet, but it seemed that Brook was another Devil Fruit user, or had at least been altered by a Devil Fruit's power. The only alternative was that a race of walking skeletons existed in the world, and Arlong had never heard of anything like that. Brook was the latest member of the Straw Hat Pirates, having joined them after the incident at Enies Lobby.
"Hah… you've got a lot of questions," Arlong said, looking over the Straw Hats. "Guess I've got no choice but to answer them…" His gaze fell upon Nami, and he quickly looked away. "First, how I ended up here. Me and my men got captured by Marines, we broke out…"
"How?" Nami asked. It was the first time she'd spoken in front of Arlong today, and her voice was just as emotionless as her face. "How did you break out?"
Arlong sighed. The answer was obvious enough to everyone here, but his only choice was to say it out loud.
"Answer. Her. Question," Sanji growled.
"…We killed the Marines on the ship," Arlong admitted.
That was met with a variety of reactions. Most concerning to Arlong was Zoro's reaching for his swords again.
"It would've saved a lot of time if I'd just cut you down in the street," Zoro said.
"No, Sir Zoro, that would have been a major issue," Brook corrected him.
Ignoring this exchange, Nami said, "What did you do after that, Arlong?"
Arlong shifted uncomfortably. "We started sailing, heading for the Grand Line… heading for home."
Over the next five minutes, Arlong explained what he and his crew had been doing up until the present day. He omitted some details, like the merchant ship he'd taken by killing the previous owners. If the Straw Hats got too angry, he would never have the opportunity to finish his story. And to be frank, it wasn't even in the top five worst crimes he'd committed in his life.
That ship… if I remember right, it's been donated to the Fish-Man District now, to help it with trading… since we, the Arlong Pirates, don't need it anymore…
When Arlong got to the part where he saved Camie and Pappag from slavery, he started running into trouble.
"You acted like a hero?" Sanji said, raising one spiral eyebrow. "Cut the bullshit, there's no way we'd believe that!"
"Y-Y-You're just trying to make us let you go!" Usopp stammered.
Nami sighed. "That part, at least, I can believe," she said, sounding disgusted at having to defend Arlong for any reason. "He's always been protective towards others, so long as they're his own kind."
"If you saved them, where are they now?" Luffy asked.
While trying his best not to show fear, Arlong pondered the question. "The starfish is a fashion designer—don't ask me how—so he'd be working at this time of day. Camie would either be assisting him or assisting Hatchan."
That caused Zoro to take note. "Where's the octopus now?"
Arlong glared at Zoro intensely. "Running his own restaurant now."
"So, Arlong, it sounds like everyone in your crew is doing quite well for themselves," Nami said. She idly touched a strange weapon at her hip—unlike her previous staff, this was composed of three blue rods each ending in a blue sphere. "And the Marines weren't able to keep you locked up…"
All of the Straw Hats looked at Arlong coldly. Luffy took off his straw hat—a bad sign.
…Well, what now? Do they plan to beat me up and turn me over to the local authorities, or leave me for the Marines again? Or, since I broke out the last time, do they plan to put me down for good?
Arlong had spent much of his life solving his problems with his fists, teeth and sword. But the Straw Hats were the one who'd handed him a crushing defeat before. And even with his recent acquisition of Haki, he had no illusions about being able to defeat the current Straw Hats.
He might, possibly, be able to escape if he tried. Escaping would only be successful if he used all of his knowledge of Fish-Man Island's geography, and if the Straw Hats were reluctant to cause civilian casualties when chasing him.
Arlong thought up a brief plan that might allow him to escape. He then took that plan and locked it up in a box in his mind, never to be unveiled again.
I've been running too long… I ran to East Blue to escape Jinbe… I ran back home when even the East Blue ended up being too hot for me…
I've had enough.
Arlong wondered what Fisher Tiger would think of him now. Would he be proud of Arlong for all he'd achieved in the Fish-Man District? Or would he be furious at Arlong, considering those achievements to be insufficient to make up for his crimes?
I don't know… but, if there's an afterlife, maybe I can find out…
"Nami," Arlong said.
"…What, Arlong?" Nami replied.
Arlong took a deep breath. "Here's a deal," he said. When Nami's face distorted in anger, he added, "It's not a deal I can go back on! Because… this time, you'll have all the power."
"What are you talking about, Arlong?" Nami asked. There did seem to be some curiosity in her words.
"Do whatever you want with me… but leave my men out of it," Arlong said. "That's all I ask."
"Your men helped hurt Nami's friends and family, just like you!" Luffy said.
"Like you said, we've got all the power in this situation," Zoro said. "Why should we even listen to your deal?"
Arlong internally sighed. He should have expected such reactions.
All I can hope for is that everyone hears about the Straw Hats coming here, and knows to lay low…
One part of Arlong, the part that had let him survive for almost forty years in a brutal and unforgiving world, wanted to resist. Even if he couldn't possibly win, he could still go out fighting, prove one last time that fish-men were to be feared.
But the remainder, the majority of Arlong… was just too tired to lift a finger.
I've been fighting for too damn long…
It's funny… I used to fight humans to protect fish-men… now I'm only fighting other fish-men… and I… can't fight humans anymore… at least, not these humans… and others…
Was it fear, having lost to humans on two separate occasions? Was it guilt, having treated humans as slaves for eight years, then killed and plundered more on his way back home? Arlong wasn't sure. All he was sure about was that he couldn't fight here and now.
"Hey!" Sanji shouted. For some reason, Arlong imagined a fiery aura around him. "Say something, you bastard!"
It took longer than I thought, but I'll be seeing you again, Brother Tiger, Arlong thought. Did you ever think Jinbe would end up being the reasonable one, while I ended up the violent idiot?
Arlong almost laughed when he recalled that aspect of the past. Jinbe had once had a habit of hitting human enemies even after they were incapacitated. Arlong had been the one to tell him to calm down. Jinbe had once been more contemptuous of Queen Otohime's peace-favouring policies than Arlong.
"…What are you thinking?" Robin asked. "Just what are you planning?"
Or maybe there's no afterlife, and everyone just… fades away at the end… That might be good too…
But… one thing I've got to do first…
Arlong bowed his head. It was something he'd done very, very few times in his life, and mostly to the one man he'd ever respected.
"Nami. I'm sorry, for everything I did. That we, the Arlong Pirates, did."
Everyone else fell into a stunned silence. For a few moments, the only sounds were those of the ocean currents, flowing around the bubble that encased this part of the Sea Forest.
"…Are you kidding me?"
Nami forcefully grabbed Arlong by his collar, pulling him down to her eye-level.
"DO YOU THINK THAT'S ENOUGH!?" Nami screamed. "EVERYONE HAD TO PAY YOU BASTARDS ALL THEIR SAVINGS! SOME OF THE ELDERS KILLED THEMSELVES TO NOT BE A BURDEN TO THEIR FAMILIES! WHEN GOSA COULDN'T PAY YOUR TRIBUTE, YOU SLAUGHTERED THEM ALL!"
Arlong remained completely and utterly still. He noticed some of the newer Straw Hats, such as Chopper, look shocked—Nami must not have told them much about her past before.
"Oh, sorry, I made one mistake," Nami said, now with a much cooler tone. "You didn't slaughter them all, you actually missed a few. One of them was a boy, who would've gotten himself killed in revenge, if I hadn't stopped him."
Arlong had no idea that had even happened, but it certainly sounded plausible. If anything, he had expected far more attempts at revenge over the years.
I used to think they were just too weak to rise up, but… even that was wrong. At the end, the islanders did try to fight back… and without 'em, the Straw Hats might not have won…
"So, former captain, I don't accept your apology," Nami said. "You can take your false words, and shove them up your—!"
"CAPTAIN!"
When he heard that voice from behind, Arlong felt a wave of horror slap him across the face.
You idiot! Why the hell would you come here!?
Arlong noticed that all of the Straw Hats looked surprised… including Nami, who should have recognised the voice as well. That made him turn around.
"What… the hell…?" Arlong gasped.
Approaching through the water was a large tuna with a sunfish fish-man and a shark merman on its back. The fish-man was Pisaro, Arlong's crewmate and the one who'd just called out to him. The other was someone who Arlong had seen on very few occasions.
The tuna stopped just outside the bubble that Arlong and the Straw Hats were in. Then Pisaro and the merman dismounted and entered the bubble.
"Captain! You're alive!" Pisaro said, a hundred-berry note clutched in his hand. He glanced at the Straw Hats and trembled. "Oh, I kept thinking we weren't going to make it in time!"
Arlong saw the note in Pisaro's hand and realised what had happened. He recalled, while in Pisaro's new apartment, taking out his wallet to check how much money he had. He must have dropped a note in there, and Pisaro had dutifully followed Arlong's tracks to return it. In the process, he must have seen Arlong's confrontation with three of the Straw Hats.
You idiot! Arlong thought, even as he felt touched by the gesture. You didn't have to risk your life to return a hundred berries! Even if you did bring help…
"…That one looks familiar," Zoro said. "But who's the merman?"
"…Fukaboshi, eldest prince of the Neptune Family that rules this island," Nami replied.
Arlong looked at Nami, surprise momentarily overriding his… complex mess of emotions.
"I was in your crew for a decade, remember?" Nami said irritably. "You guys often talked about your home and what was happening there. And when we came to this island, I obviously read up on it in advance…"
Then Pisaro and Fukaboshi came within a normal conversational distance. The latter was truly massive, being over twice as tall as Arlong, and with a thick build that showed formidable strength. His face was long and framed on either side by blue hair. He wore a purple cloth around his waist and a pale blue band that passed over his shoulders and went around his back.
"I am Fukaboshi," Fukaboshi announced. His booming voice could have caused even armies warring on a battlefield to stop and listen. "This may seem strange to you, Straw Hat Pirates, but I hope you are enjoying your stay in Fish-Man Island."
"Ah, he's a prince… are we supposed to be bowing!?" Chopper asked frantically.
"That would be rather odd, given that we are pirates," Brook pointed out. "Pirates with an unusually poor relationship with the World Government…"
"Well… Fish-Man Island's status is quite unusual, itself," Fukaboshi admitted. "While we are formally part of the World Government, we also have the flag of an Emperor flying above our island. And Edward Newgate is a far greater enemy to the World Government than the likes of you, no offence meant."
Yeah, the five billion bounty is a big clue… Arlong thought.
"In any case, we accept the visits of pirates so long as they do not cause trouble here," Fukaboshi said.
Nami made a disgusted face, but she said nothing. Arlong deduced that she didn't care to continue her feud with Arlong if it meant causing an unnecessary fight.
After challenging the World Government, beating one of the Cipher Pols, I guess one small-time pirate just doesn't matter as much…
However, not all of Nami's crewmates shared her opinion. In particular was the very man who'd once crushed Arlong's hopes.
"He literally enslaved my friend's home for years!" Luffy said. He looked up at Fukaboshi, not at all cowed by the extreme disparity in size. "You're telling us he gets to go free, just because he's not causing trouble here!?"
Fukaboshi likewise showed no fear of this young-yet-infamous pirate. "The situation is more complicated than that… allow me to explain. First, I swear on the names of my father and late mother that what I am about to tell you is the unaltered truth."
Many of the Straw Hats continued to look suspicious. Surprisingly, Luffy relaxed noticeably.
"Fine," Luffy said simply.
"Wait, you're just believing him when he says that?" Usopp said. He trembled and leaned in to Luffy's ear to whisper something else, presumably along the lines of, "We don't even know if that promise means anything!"
"He wouldn't break that promise," Luffy said.
Arlong, even with his limited experiences with the royal family, knew that to be true. But for this total newcomer to think the same, and be so confident about it… Arlong wondered if Luffy was able to use Observation Haki to tell truth from lies. It wouldn't even be the weirdest thing that Arlong had seen in his life.
"Your trust is appreciated," Fukaboshi said. "So, when Arlong returned to this island…"
AN: I mentioned shark fish-men being able to sense electricity all the way back in the second chapter. This chapter gave me the chance to show that in use.