Half an hour later, after hearing about everything up to and including the capture of Vander Decken, the Straw Hats still looked far from satisfied. In fact, the explanation would have taken much less time had they not kept interrupting Fukaboshi.
A particularly concerning moment was when Robin said, "According to yourself, your mother was assassinated by someone acting on the same philosophy as Arlong. Why, then, are you defending him?"
Arlong felt cold sweat trickle down his face. So far, he'd been operating on the assumption that the royals had focused their anger on Hody, the one immediately responsible for the assassination. However, it wouldn't have taken them much effort to find out Arlong had been spreading violent rhetoric in the Fish-Man District for years.
"That is a fair question…" Fukaboshi said. He looked at Arlong while pressing his own lips together thinly. "To begin my answer, I was raised with the expectation of becoming Fish-Man Island's next ruler… and a ruler must know when to make necessary compromises. In this case, I am willing to defend Arlong because of what he has done for my people… specifically, people who have been shamefully neglected for too long."
"You really think he's helped them?" Luffy asked.
"I have seen it with my own two eyes," Fukaboshi insisted. "The Fish-Man District was once a crumbling ruin, but it is now a place where children can laugh and play without having to worry about their next meals. And, importantly, I must point out that Hody Jones did not act on the same philosophy. There are differences between him and Arlong, though I grant that these differences may be insignificant to you."
The prince must have ridiculous patience, I would've blown up by now if I was in his position, Arlong thought.
In the end, Nami stepped forward.
"Your Highness…" Nami said, clearly still skeptical. "You say that he is actually working to make up for his crimes. So will he be allowed to go free eventually?"
Fukaboshi hesitated for a moment. Arlong knew that the prince knew the answer already, but presumably he was having trouble saying it.
Just say it. You know it's what I deserve.
"…No," Fukaboshi said. "Arlong will not be allowed to leave Fish-Man Island. He can move around within our borders, but may not leave. And if he commits additional crimes here, he will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. These restrictions apply to his crew as well."
That was something Arlong had pushed for, in a meeting with the royals a few weeks ago. In theory, they could have used his considerable services to justify pardoning him and his entire crew. Arlong wasn't a big enough criminal for the rest of the World Government to care. But he had refused that.
After all the shit we've been through on the surface… none of us has any real reason to go back up there. Hell, when my boys agreed with me about going back to piracy… were they just humouring me? Did they actually hope I'd change my mind?
The end result was that the Arlong Pirates were confined to this island from now on. It wasn't a painful confinement by any means, since it was an enormous place and they liked being back home. But it would keep them from hurting anyone else again.
"Doesn't sound like much of a punishment to me," Zoro said.
"Yeah, we found him just walking around on the street!" Chopper added.
"Then why not come to see the Fish-Man District for yourselves?" Fukaboshi suggested. "You could see what Arlong and his crew have done for its people."
The Straw Hats looked wary. Arlong could hardly blame them, he would have reacted the same way in their position.
"…Fine," Nami said. "We weren't exactly in a hurry to get through Fish-Man Island, anyway…"
"I'm grateful for your consideration," Fukaboshi said. He looked back at the large tuna he and Pisaro had rode here. "Hmm. There is no public transport from the Sea Forest to the Fish-Man District, and my mount isn't big enough to carry you all… I chose this one instead of my usual to avoid drawing attention. I would suggest that you return to the main island and take one of the regular Fish Buses to the district."
-ooo-
A short time later, Arlong found himself in a Fish Bus along with the Straw Hats. This, needless to say, meant there was an absolutely painful atmosphere inside the bus. No other passengers had boarded, clearly preferring to be a bit late than to experience this.
Damn you, Fukaboshi…!
Arlong knew, rationally, that the prince couldn't have accompanied them here without drawing attention from the public. And Arlong himself had told Pisaro not to accompany them, to spare him the stress of being around the Straw Hat Pirates.
What the hell can I even say? Or are we going to spend the entire trip with this uncomfortable silence?
Eventually, the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates spoke up.
"Sir Arlong," Brook said. "We have heard quite a lot about your recent actions. But what were you doing prior to that?"
Arlong was taken aback by that. He instinctively glanced at Nami, which caused Sanji to start burning with anger.
"I'd be interested in knowing about that too," Robin said. "While on this island, I've been hearing the occasional tale of the Sun Pirates… a crew who distinguished themselves with a brand of a sun on their bodies."
Many pairs of eyes focused on Arlong's left shoulder. While it was partly covered by the shirt he currently wore, the sun brand was still visible there.
"…That's old history now," Arlong grumbled. "Left them years ago."
"History is more important than most people think," Robin said. "By knowing what led to the world we see today, we can hopefully avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
Then Arlong noticed Luffy shift in his seat. That briefly terrified the fish-man, but then he realised Luffy was now staring out the side of the Fish Bus' bubble.
"Luffy, what is it?" asked Usopp, who was sitting next to him.
Suddenly, and without answering Usopp's question, Luffy jumped out of the Fish Bus. He passed through the bubble… and immediately began flailing weakly, since the Fish Bus was currently swimming through a water highway.
"LUFFY!?"
"That idiot—"
"What the hell is he thinking!?"
Zoro stood up from his seat, said, "I'll take care of him…" and then jumped out of the Fish Bus too.
Arlong was utterly baffled by all this. He knew even from his limited experience that the Straw Hats' captain could be… eccentric. However, now was a situation in which Luffy should have been completely focused on Arlong.
Zoro grabbed Luffy and then paused for a moment. He then swam back to the Fish Bus—an impressive feat for a human, given how fast it was travelling—grabbed a fin and poked his head in through the bubble.
"I saw what he was looking at," Zoro said. "All of you, come as well!"
The Straw Hats showed various looks of confusion, but they obeyed this urgent-sounding command, with the Devil Fruit users being carried by others. With no small amount of hesitation, Arlong left the Fish Bus too. There was no point in him going to the district on his own.
Eventually, they all left the water highway and landed on the ground. Luffy immediately hurried to a street vendor and picked up a newspaper. He stared at it with an even graver expression than he'd had while confronting Arlong.
Did he see the death of family in there? Arlong wondered. He's acting like… like me and the others were acting when Brother Tiger was dying…
The other Straw Hats approached Luffy and looked at the newspaper too. Some of them immediately looked understanding, while others—specifically, Robin, Franky and Brook—still looked confused.
Arlong hesitated, then approached close enough to see the newspaper too. He saw the front page, with its headline of "WHITEBEARD'S SECOND COMMANDER TO BE EXECUTED" and a picture of a black-haired human in Seastone chains.
Right, that was being planned… Arlong thought. So now the World Government is announcing it to the world.
"One of Whitebeard's guys?" Franky, the cyborg, said. "Luffy, what is he to you?"
"Ace… is my brother," Luffy said quietly, not taking his eyes away from the newspaper.
That resulted in shocked gasps from Arlong and the newer Straw Hats.
Portgas D. Ace… is his brother!? How the hell did that happen!? Who're their parents!? Why's one the captain of his own crew and the other one in Whitebeard's!?
"Not that kind of brother," Luffy amended. "Gramps brought him one day and made him live with me. We didn't really get along at first, but…" He gripped the newspaper tightly enough to tear the paper.
"…It sounds like me and Nojiko, then," Nami said, her voice softer now than Arlong ever remembered it being.
Arlong felt tremendously awkward. This was not the place for an outsider and a former enemy to be. But if he tried quietly leaving the Straw Hats alone, that might cause more trouble further down the line.
"Importantly, if this is being announced in the newspapers…" Nami said, biting her lip. "There'll be war, without a doubt. Whitebeard's famously protective of his crew…"
"The World Government would never announce this without being well-prepared," Robin warned. "They'll call in all of the forces they can spare to the site of the execution… most likely, including all of their admirals and as many Warlords of the Sea as will answer their call."
That made Arlong clench his fists nervously. Ever since he'd first heard of Ace's capture, he'd heard nothing about Jinbe's intentions.
He'd never fight Whitebeard, the protector of Fish-Man Island… does he plan to fight on Whitebeard's side now?
"I… I'm sure that Whitebeard'll save your brother!" Usopp said. "His bounty's over five billion! Higher than any of the other Emperors, he's in the same league as Gold Roger of all people!"
"At least, he was," Franky said grimly. "Isn't he in his sixties—no, seventies now? Not sure if he's as super as he used to be."
"Doesn't matter how strong he is, or who the Marines call up," Luffy said. "I'm going there too!"
"Are you insane!?" Arlong said, unable to help himself. "This is a battle between the full force of the Marines, and one of the Four Emperors! You might be stronger than when you beat me, but you'd be no more than plankton there! Hell, my old captain," he felt a pang of regret upon saying those words, "could crush you all by himself!"
"Doesn't matter," Luffy said resolutely.
"Perhaps we should take this to somewhere more private," Brook interjected. "We are causing a scene here."
Sure enough, there were many people staring at them now. Chief among them was the newspaper vendor, who was gaping in shock at the world-changing revelations he'd heard.
"…I know a good place…" Arlong muttered.
-ooo-
A few minutes later, the Straw Hat Pirates were sitting in a nearby restaurant. According to Arlong, the staff here knew not to pry into their guests' affairs. Arlong himself was seated somewhere downstairs.
"This day has not turned out how I expected…" Nami said. "I never thought I'd run into Arlong again, then that would turn out to be minor in the grand scheme of things…"
"We could still deal with him now, my dear Nami," Sanji said. "It wouldn't take much time."
Nami waved a hand dismissively. "After having more time to think about it… I just don't care about him anymore. There's far worse scum than him in the world… like the Celestial Dragons."
Everyone at the table grimaced. Even Brook managed it despite no longer having a face.
Prior to coming to Fish-Man Island, the Straw Hat Pirates had stopped at Sabaody Archipelago. The place was famous for its amusement park, at which many of the crew had enjoyed themselves.
It was also famous for being one of the few places where the Celestial Dragons visited. One of whom had seen Nami and Robin eating in an outdoor restaurant, and decided they'd serve well as his two latest wives.
Sanji stomped one of his feet on the floor. "Should've just killed that bastard and made it look like an accident…"
Zoro nodded. "Wouldn't have been too difficult, either."
"That would have drawn too much attention, his death would have been investigated!" Nami said. "It was easier for us to run away and fake our deaths in that dust explosion."
Under the right conditions, even an everyday material like powdered sugar could be a potent explosive. After briefly getting out of sight of the Celestial Noble, Nami had conjured up a gust of wind to scatter sugar from a merchant's wagon, then ignited it with a little lightning. She and Robin had then hidden themselves so the Celestial Dragon gave up.
"Anyway, that arrogant jerk doesn't matter at this point," Franky said. "How do we save Luffy's brother?"
Luffy had a plate piled high with meat in front of him, but he'd yet to eat a single bite. That was something that Nami and everyone else found deeply concerning.
"He's only my brother," Luffy said, gripping the edge of the table tightly. "And I know this'll be dangerous. But… if you guys… are fine with it…"
Nami punched Luffy lightly in the shoulder. "Idiot, are you really hesitating to ask that of us?"
"With all due respect, captain, you wouldn't succeed on your own," Robin said, laying a hand on Luffy's other shoulder. "If you want to save your brother, please accept our help."
"Y-You guys…" Luffy said, his eyes tearing up. "Thank… you…"
Nami took a hunk of Sea Beast meat and shoved it into Luffy's mouth. "Alright, then let's review the situation," she said. "According to several different newspapers, Luffy's brother is being held in Impel Down."
"The world's most secure prison," Brook said gravely. "If I remember correctly, there has only been one escape in all its history."
"Enies Lobby had a similar reputation," Zoro said, "and look what we did there."
"This time, let's try for more than just a frontal attack, shall we?" Nami said. "First, the problem of how to get there. Unlike Enies Lobby, Impel Down doesn't have a Sea Train line running to it."
"Stealing a Marine ship, or stowing away on one, are probably the best options," Robin said.
"What if Whitebeard's planning to attack Impel Down too?" Chopper asked. "This plan'd be a whole lot easier if one of the Four Emperors was helping!"
"Or a whole lot more dangerous," Usopp pointed out. "They say Whitebeard can make earthquakes and tsunamis, sink islands into the sea! They say his commanders are almost as much of monsters as him!"
"I doubt Whitebeard would join in any rescue mission himself," Sanji said. "He'd risk bringing down the whole prison on Ace's head."
"But if he does send anyone in, we could try working with them," Zoro said. "At least we might be able to use them as a distraction, let them keep the guards occupied."
The discussion continued for over an hour. Increasingly ridiculous ideas were thrown out, and mostly discarded… though a few were considered and developed further.
After all, without being willing to try the ridiculous, they could never hope to rescue the world's most guarded prisoner.
-ooo-
Arlong sat on a chair and sipped at a kelp shake. It was one of the cheaper options on the menu; he'd long since spent all his savings on the improvement of the Fish-Man District.
Brother Tiger… just how much did you plan, before you raided Mary Geoise?
That legendary feat was often spoken of as if Fisher Tiger had simply made up his mind and then done it. But thinking about it now, he could never have raided the holy city with just reckless courage and brute strength. That place was guarded by God's Knights and Cipher Pol Zero, and an admiral could always be summoned if the Celestial Dragons were in trouble.
However you did it, you did it by yourself… and you freed so many slaves, too…
Even in death, the legacy of Arlong's former captain remained strong. Arlong would never be able to match him, no matter how hard he tried.
"…what does this mean for Fish-Man Island?"
"If Whitebeard falls…"
"What'll Sir Jinbe do?"
Many of the others in the restaurant were also talking about the recent news. They seemed more concerned by it than the food in front of them.
Eventually, Arlong noticed a certain group walking down the restaurant's stairs.
"So, you're really doing this?" Arlong asked, once the Straw Hats were close enough.
"We are," Nami said coldly.
Arlong guessed that their plan was to break Portgas D. Ace out of Impel Down. He recalled what he knew of the prison.
I only saw the second level, since I was kept there, but I heard stories of the lower levels from other prisoners. Apparently, they're even worse than a zoo of vicious beasts…
…and that's just the tortures. The actual guards are mostly weak, but there's powerful ones as well, and the warden… even the most hardened prisoners were terrified by the sound of his name…
"This will probably be the last time we see each other, Arlong," Nami said. "I can't say I'll miss you."
"…Hrm."
Arlong had no idea what to say. Normal acquaintances would have wished each other well, but that would have just been absurd in this situation.
The Straw Hats filed out of the restaurant. Some glanced back at Arlong briefly, but that was it.
Arlong wasn't alone in the restaurant now, of course. There were the staff and the other customers. But he didn't know any of these people, so the effect was similar to being alone.
…They're really doing it. They'll almost certainly die, but they're really doing it…
Just like you, Brother Tiger…
Arlong thought again about Impel Down. His mind went through scenario after scenario of the Straw Hats dying to its numerous hazards…
…as well as scenario after scenario of them managing to overcome those hazards. Depending on the individual, they did this with intelligence, quick thinking, good preparation or just sheer force.
Arlong continued thinking for an uncertain period of time, long enough for customers to leave and others to come in.
This line of thought continued until an Ammo Knight entered the restaurant. He immediately walked over to Arlong.
"Arlong, you've been summoned by royal authority," the Ammo Knight said brusquely. "Come with me."
While still thinking about the Straw Hats and Impel Down, Arlong stood up.
-ooo-
Arlong's next destination was a room of Ryugu Palace, where he met a certain prince again.
"Welcome, Arlong," Fukaboshi said. He was sitting down to reduce the height difference between himself and the standing Arlong. "How did you fare with the Straw Hat Pirates?"
"They dropped their grudge with me because something more important came up," Arlong said bluntly.
"I see… well, that is fortunate," Fukaboshi said. "A more important matter has also drawn our, the Neptune Family's, attention. I'm sure you've heard by now of what will happen to Whitebeard's second division commander."
"Even newborn babies've heard by now," Arlong said. "Has… Has Jinbe finally said something about it?"
Fukaboshi looked down at the floor. "In a sense… though this communication did not come from him. My father… His Majesty has learned that Sir Jinbe has been imprisoned for his refusal to fight the Whitebeard Pirates."
Arlong felt his heart plummet. He staggered backwards until his back hit solid wall.
"Imprisoned… in Impel Down?"
"Naturally, it's the only prison that could possibly hold a man like him," Fukaboshi replied. "I'm sorry, I know this must be a great shock to you…"
Arlong was hardly listening anymore. His mind was again consumed by thought.
You… dumbass! You should've openly joined Whitebeard and fought with him! That'd be better than just letting yourself get locked up!
"My father, and many others, are considering how to ease the citizens' worries…"
Unless your plan was to get into Impel Down to break Portgas out, this is just stupid!
Arlong remembered butting heads with Jinbe countless times, back when they'd both been in the Sun Pirates. He remembered the two times that Jinbe had beaten him almost to the point of death.
He remembered those drunken parties aboard the Snapper Head, their ship, parties in which he and Jinbe had laughed together.
Hah. Thought I'd given up on fighting… given up on life. But now I've got something new to fight for.
This time, you're the one who did something stupid, and I'm the one who has to get you out of chains.
Without saying a word, Arlong headed towards the door of the room.
"Wait, calm yourself!" Fukaboshi said. He grabbed Arlong by one shoulder, his hand feeling as immovable as an iron vice. "I'm not going to let the man who saved my sister just throw away his life!"
"Worried I'm going to go off alone and get myself killed, prince?" Arlong said. "Don't worry. I'm not doing this alone."
-ooo-
Luffy stood on the forecastle of the Thousand Sunny, staring off into the water ahead. The ship—coated with resin to let it operate underwater—was rising up quickly in an undersea current. But it still didn't feel fast enough to him. They'd left Fish-Man Island an hour ago, after thre hours of rushed preparation, but it still didn't feel fast enough to him.
Ace…
Luffy recalled running around a mountain with Ace and a third, evading Dadan's frustrated attempts to catch them. He recalled exchanging cups of sake with Ace and a third. He recalled Ace walking away, declaring that he'd become a billion-bounty pirate before Luffy even set out on his own adventure.
Just wait a bit longer, Ace!
Then Luffy felt a slight sensation, best described as a twitch in the left part of his brain. He didn't quite understand what it was, but he'd gotten quite far in life by trusting his instincts.
Luffy looked to the left. He spotted several dark silhouettes in the water around the coated ship, silhouettes that were looming closer.
It's not clear… but one of 'em has lots of arms…
Luffy jumped down from the forecastle and walked to the port side of the ship.
"What is it, Luffy?" asked Nami. She'd been tending to her mikan trees at the aft part of the ship, but now she dropped her pruning shears and grasped her Perfect Clima-Tact.
"Some people are coming!" Luffy replied, not taking his eyes off the silhouettes.
A few seconds later, Zoro came out with swords in hand. His instincts had always seemed sharp as well.
"Hmm… they feel awfully familiar," Zoro said.
Sanji soon came out as well. He immediately moved to a position that was between Zoro and the ship's port side, while also being close to Nami.
Soon enough, the silhouettes reached the edge of the coating bubble. And Luffy mentally readied himself to activate Gear Second.
"Why're you here!?" Luffy called out.
"You should've just taken our mercy and stayed on your island!" Sanji shouted. "How dare you show your faces before Nami again!?"
"We're not here for her, or for any of you!" said a blue fish-man with really wide arms… Luffy didn't remember his name. "Though if it's a rematch you want, I'll take you up on the offer!"
"We're here because we have someone we want to break out of Impel Down, same as you," Arlong said. "And we'll both have a better chance of succeeding if we… work… together." He looked like saying those words had physically hurt him. "Especially since I actually know about what Impel Down is like."
"Nyoo, we're telling the truth, promise!" said an octopus fish-man. Just looking at him made Luffy hunger for takoyaki for some reason, even though now wasn't the time to enjoy food.
"We want to save our old captain, and we'll try to do that no matter what you do," Chew said. "King Neptune gave us permission for this."
"There's no way we could ever work with you lot properly," Zoro said, already adopting his usual three-sword stance. "We'd be watching each other for betrayal every single moment."
The Straw Hat Pirates and the Arlong Pirates glared at each other from opposite sides of the coating. After a few moments, Luffy thought of some questions.
"This person you want to get out, your old captain, is he strong?" Luffy asked. "If we got him out of his cell, would he help us all get out of Impel Down?"
"Yes, to both," Arlong said. "He's stronger than every single person here put together. And he's too honourable for his own good. If he's in debt to someone, he'll put his all into repaying it."
Luffy then turned to one of his own crew. "Nami, what do you think?"
Sanji bristled. "Of course she's not fine with—"
"Your old captain, would he be Jinbe, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea?" Nami asked.
"…Yeah, he is," Arlong replied.
"Because from what I heard, listening to your crew in the old days, you used to be in Impel Down as well," Nami said. Her eyes narrowed. "You were released thanks to the request of a certain Warlord…"
"Alright, I know what you're getting at, so let me make this clear," Arlong said firmly. "What we did to Conomi was our choice. Jinbe had nothing to do with it. He would've stopped it if he heard, that's why I bothered to bribe a Marine to hide our activities."
There was silence for a few tense moments. Usopp poked his head out of a hatch, spotted the Arlong Pirates and shrieked "Eep!" But instead of just ducking back out of sight, he took out his slingshot with trembling hands.
"…Fine," Nami said. "You can join, just for this mission."
"You sure about this?" Zoro asked, though he was lowering his swords.
"I'm sure that trying to get into Impel Down will be stupidly dangerous, and we'll need all the help we can get," Nami said. She sighed. "No matter who it comes from… and having insider knowledge will definitely be useful."
Sanji looked at the Arlong Pirates disdainfully, then nodded. "Fine. But at the very least, you better not hold us back."
The wide-armed guy slammed one fist into the palm of the other hand. "You don't need to worry about that. We got back into shape while returning home, and all of us here kept training regularly. We're not the same as when we lost to you before."
The Arlong Pirates swam forward, passed through the coating bubble and landed on the Thousand Sunny's deck. They looked around, their eyes briefly settling on one of the ship's windows, from which Chopper and Robin were watching.
Luffy didn't like the thought of these old enemies even touching this ship. But the prince from earlier had made a good point, sometimes you had to make compromises in order to succeed.
Aokiji… the bear guy… we didn't stand a chance against them. And there's even stronger guys out there… If we want to save Ace, we have to be smart about it.
"Alright, then we're allies for the moment," Arlong said. He looked down at Luffy, but he didn't seem as contemptuous as when they'd first met. "Never thought I'd head out to sea again, but… might as well seal the deal."
Arlong held out a webbed hand. After a moment's hesitation, Luffy grasped and shook it.
AN: This is a massive divergence from my original plans. I originally wanted to have Arlong stay back while the Straw Hats tried to rescue Ace, and he would watch them at Marineford via the public broadcast. Upon writing these two chapters, I decided to go for something else. That's another reason this took so long to write.
Also, I wrote up a big chunk of text about an alternate scene with Arlong present as the Straw Hats discuss how to rescue Ace. To avoid having that go to waste, I'll include it right after this. Feel free to ignore it if you want.
"So, let me get this straight," Arlong said. "You say you plan to sneak into Marineford, when it'll be crawling with Marines expecting just that, as well as a frontal attack. Then you're going to take your brother and somehow sneak him out, when the Marines'll be watching for that as well. And you don't care that the entire Whitebeard Pirates will be trying the same thing."
"Being fair to our captain, it's not that stupid of an idea, unlike most of his ideas," Zoro said. "Especially because Whitebeard will be there."
"No matter what the Marines suspect Whitebeard, or anyone else, is planning," Nami said. "They can't take afford to take their eyes off Whitebeard. In a way, he'd be the best kind of distraction."
"We did get our dear Robin out of Enies Lobby, another stronghold of the World Government," Sanji said. "And our only allies then were a motley group of carpenters and gangsters."
"The best carpenters and gangsters in the world, thank you very much," Franky said.
"It's true that Marineford will be even more fortified than Enies Lobby was," Robin said. "But even the strongest security of the world's greatest organisation will have gaps. If it wasn't for that, I would never have been able to evade them since my childhood…"
"I think this is a horrible, horrible idea," Usopp said, his face gloomy. "But… I'm not about to chicken out of this."
That reminded Arlong of what Chew had said, some time ago: "The long-nosed guy was a weak coward, but that didn't stop him from beating me senseless, choo."
"So we won't be seeing the mysterious king of snipers again?" Robin asked, a teasing tone in her voice.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Usopp blustered. "I don't know about any mysterious and dashing king of snipers!"
Luffy bit into a hunk of meat loudly, then swallowed after a little chewing. "It'll be dangerous, I know that. And Ace is only my brother. You…" he paused. "You don't have to come if—"
Nami gently punched Luffy in the shoulder. "You're really saying that? Don't make me laugh. There's no way I'm letting an idiot like you do this himself."
"If you want to succeed in rescuing your brother, you'll need someone who understands how agents of the World Government think," Robin said.
"You know my goal is to become the world's best swordsman," Zoro said. He grinned, an expression that sent chills down Arlong's spine. "And it sounds like the current best swordsman is going to be fighting at Marineford. I'm not missing out on this chance."
"I will, of course, be wherever Nami and Robin are," Sanji said, sounding much more serious than warranted by his words. He then stared off into the distance. "If I have the time, I could help in this rescue mission. Family is… important."
"I'm going too, Luffy!" Chopper said, holding up one hoof. "It might be scary, but if one of the Four Emperors is helping too, I'm sure we can pull it off!"
"Hmph… you'd never get the Thousand Sunny to a place like Marineford," Franky said, then he grinned, showing off gleaming-white teeth, "without an ultimate shipwright like me! And it'd be a perfect place to test my latest weapons!"
"Yohoho… unlike the rest of you, I haven't confronted the World Government yet," Brook said. He sipped from a teacup. "It's time that I fixed that."
Arlong looked around at all of the Straw Hats. He was still stunned by what he was seeing and hearing.
But when he thought about it, this was merely the next logical step for a crew that had invaded Enies Lobby and burned the World Government's flag.
When he thought about it, he wondered if his former captain would admire their audacity.
"…You're all insane," Arlong said. He slumped back in his chair. "Well, it's none of my business, anyway… except that it means you don't have time to spare for me."
Nami looked at Arlong coldly. "I still haven't forgiven you, Arlong. It's just that we've got a much bigger problem right now. And… even after we're done with that—"
If he'd heard this from anyone else, Arlong would have laughed mockingly at their presumption of survival. But he knew quite well not to underestimate the Straw Hat Pirates.
"—I just don't care about you anymore," Nami finished. "Thinking about it now, there's far worse scum out there, like those Celestial Dragons…"
Arlong grimaced. The Celestial Dragons were, to put it bluntly, true monsters. Fisher Tiger hadn't talked much of what he'd experienced on Mary Geoise, as a slave to the Celestial Dragons, but what little he'd revealed put all of Arlong's crimes to shame.
"You met them?" Arlong deduced. He thought for a moment. "Was it at Sabaody?"
The Sabaody Archipelago was the last stop before Fish-Man Island, so it would make sense for the Straw Hats to have just been there. It was famous for its amusement park and other attractions—in fact, Arlong in his childhood had often stared enviously at that amusement park from afar. It was also famous for being one of the few places regularly visited by Celestial Dragons.
"Nami and I were simply eating in an outdoor restaurant there," Robin said. Her eyes hardened. "Then one of the Celestial Dragons, a man, approached. He declared that we would serve well as his two latest wives."
Sanji stomped one of his feet on the floor. "Should've just killed that bastard and made it look like an accident…"
Zoro nodded. "Wouldn't have been too difficult, either."
"That would have drawn too much attention, his death would have been investigated!" Nami said. She looked back at Arlong. "So we ran away, eventually faked our own deaths in an accident—a dust explosion, using some sacks of flour we came across."
"Well… that must've been rough," Arlong said awkwardly. "Sorry you had to go through that…"
Nami waved her hand dismissively. "That doesn't matter now. Anyway, if we're going to save your brother, Luffy, we'll have to head out right away."
Now that the topic had returned to this, Arlong had an idea. He'd never expected to say this to another, least of all to the Straw Hat Pirates. But they were literally his only hope.
"…I'll leave you to it, but first…" Arlong said. "You might run into my old captain. I'm not sure what you heard of him, but he's…" Arlong forced himself to admit the truth, "a lot more honourable than you think. The important thing is, he's one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, but this is a time where he won't be able to fight for the government."
"Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea…" Robin said, cupping her chin. "Is it because of Whitebeard's relationship with Fish-Man Island?"
"Yeah… in the first place, he only took that Warlord position to help protect the island," Arlong said. "But I don't think he's going to fight Whitebeard… so you might end up having him as an ally, too. Just… Just watch out for that."
Nami looked up at Arlong—purely in the literal sense, not the figurative sense. There was a thoughtful look in her eyes.
"…We will," Nami said. "Then this is goodbye, Arlong. I never want to see you again."