"DIE, HUMAN!"
"YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!"
In a certain street of a certain town, Arlong and Luffy punched each other in the face. Neither hit using their full strength. It was still enough to split skin and inflict pain—to Luffy as well, since Arlong was enhancing his punch with Haki.
"IT'S PAYBACK TIME, NYOO!"
"IF YOU WANT TO BE CUT DOWN AGAIN, FINE BY ME!"
Hatchan and Zoro fought a short distance away, six swords clashing against three.
"I'M NOT WHAT I WAS BEFORE! LET ME SHOW YOU THE TRUE POWER OF FISH-MAN KARATE!"
"TRY IT! I'LL CRUSH YOU AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU DID TO NAMI!"
In a slightly different direction, Kuroobi blocked a kick from Sanji, then retaliated with a palm strike that sent the human chef into a nearby stack of crates. Sanji immediately leapt back to his feet, looking no worse for wear.
"STOP RUNNING, CHOO!"
"GYAAAAAHHH! STOP CHASING ME!"
Chew was running after Usopp… who was fleeing with tears streaming from his eyes.
There was no acting in Usopp's behaviour. For that matter, the others here weren't really acting.
We've still got plenty of emotions pent-up! Arlong thought. All we have to do is let 'em loose!
"GUM-GUM GATLING!"
A barrage of fists began striking Arlong, as if Luffy had managed to multiply his fists by a factor of ten or more.
In response, Arlong reached out with both hands. One of his hands caught only empty air, but the other caught Luffy's left wrist.
Then, even as punches from Luffy's right fist rained down on Arlong's body, Arlong ran forward. He grabbed Luffy by the shoulder and thrust his saw-toothed nose forward, as if to impale the rubber man.
"GET OFF!"
Luffy heaved with both arms, breaking out of Arlong's restraint and tossing him high into the air. Arlong landed roughly on some fruit merchant's wagon—the merchant having fled in terror already, like all of the citizens in this area of Sabaody Archipelago.
Crash!
Arlong immediately extricated himself from a pile of apples, oranges and wooden chunks. He reached down, picked up a few of the larger chunks and threw them. With his fish-man strength, the chunks flew with the speed of bullets.
Luffy moved from side to side, dodging all but one of the wooden chunks, which left a long scratch along his face.
He moved into that one on purpose, didn't he? Has he got Observation Haki as well? Doesn't seem to realise it yet, though…
Arlong, Luffy and their subordinates continued fighting for another few minutes. Their bodies became battered and bruised all over.
Then the moment finally arrived.
A Seastone net shot towards Luffy, and Arlong by extension. The two pirates stood still as they watched it approach. The net wrapped around and brought them to the ground.
"Ugh… it's annoying, how weak I get from Seastone…" Luffy grumbled.
"Keep up the act, if you want to save your brother," Arlong hissed.
"STOP IN THE NAME OF THE MARINES!" said a powerful voice.
Arlong looked up to see dozens of Marines in every direction, some of them on the ground, others having taken up high positions on rooftops. Almost all of them were aiming their flintlocks at the pirates.
"You've caused enough trouble!" said the Marine clearly in charge of this group, who wore the coat of a captain. "Surrender, pirates, or you will die here!"
The subordinates of Arlong and Luffy were still standing, but they all looked to be in poor shape. This even extended to Chew, who'd been hit by various traps, and Usopp, who'd blundered into various objects while running from him.
After a tense silence, the pirates dropped their weapons and sullenly turned to face the Marines.
"At least you could see reason…" the Marine captain said. He looked around. "Three of them are certainly members of the Straw Hat Pirates…" he raised an eyebrow at Usopp, "but who is that one? Greg, bring me the posters."
A low-ranking Marine hurried up to the captain and handed over a stack of wanted posters, which the captain began leafing through. He stopped at a certain poster.
"Could he be this 'Sogeking'?" the captain wondered out loud. "But his actual name and face aren't known… just what is the intelligence department doing!?"
"Captain Frederick, your orders?" asked the low-ranking Marine.
"Hmm… he seemed to be fighting alongside the Straw Hats, so we'll bring him in as well," Frederick replied.
"Nonono!" Usopp screamed, waving his hands wildly. "I'm innocent, I tell you! I just happened to be here, and then I was being chased around! I swear it's the truth!"
"Someone innocent wouldn't have so many bombs on them, to throw around!" Chew retorted with anger that probably wasn't feigned. His body was covered in soot from the explosions of said bombs.
Frederick turned his gaze towards Sanji. "And this one… only barely matches his poster."
Zoro snorted. "Looks like a perfect match to me."
Sanji glared at Zoro while clenching his teeth. If they weren't all trying to get arrested, Arlong suspected that the chef would have begun attacking his own crewmate.
"And the fish-men are the Arlong Pirates," Frederick said, looking at other posters. "Even their leader's bounty is just sixty million, while the officers' bounties are in the thirty million range… yet they managed to put up a fight against the Straw Hat Pirates?"
Arlong began feeling nervous. If the Marines didn't fall for this trick, it would be very difficult to get into Impel Down.
"Then again, bounties aren't a reliable indicator of strength…" Frederick said. "Anyway, bring them all in!"
The Marines on the ground moved forward, while those on rooftops stayed put to keep their guns trained on Arlong and the others.
"GRAAAAAAHHH!" Luffy roared, wriggling around within the net. "I'm not going to jail!"
"No human net can hold me!" Arlong added. He grasped some of the net's strands and pretended to pull with all of his strength. "HAAAHHH!"
"It's useless!" Frederick said mockingly. "Seastone is not something you can break with mere strength! Ironically, it seems a fish like you can't understand that!"
…If I get the chance, I'll kill him for that, Arlong thought.
Marines closed in—some of them showing discomforted expressions—and started beating Arlong and Luffy. Most used the butts of their flintlocks while a couple used Seastone-coated clubs. Before long, the two pirates stopped struggling.
At the same time, other Marines slapped shackles around the wrists of Arlong's and Luffy's subordinates.
…So far, so good… Arlong thought.
-ooo-
For the second time in a few months, Arlong found himself in a cell. The creaking of a ship's timbers and the crashing of waves resounded through the air.
Heh… now I know what Marco's lot are feeling…
Arlong thought back to the last information he'd heard on those three. They'd been given the offer to leave prison and help in the Fish-Man District's rebuilding in exchange for a reduced sentence. While tempted by the chance to see the sun again, they'd turned it down.
That kind of honest work ain't for us, Marco had said. He shared a guilty look with his two cellmates. And… after trying to sell off our own kind… it's not something we deserve…
Give it a chance, Arlong had said. If you ever change your minds, the offer's open.
Then Arlong brought his thoughts back to the present.
The only way to get to Impel Down in time, before Portgas D. Ace is sent for execution, is on a Marine ship. Most other ships can't even get through the Calm Belt the prison's in. And even Marine ships aren't let through the Gates of Justice unless they've got permission.
This plan was the only way we could guarantee a Marine ship going to Impel Down.
The rest of the Straw Hats were in this ship's hold, having snuck on board while Arlong and others were being brought on. The hold of a Marine ship needed to be huge to carry all the supplies for its large crew, so there were plenty of hiding spots down there.
Arlong's three crewmates were calm. They'd been through this before, and it was now less stressful due to being part of a plan. So Arlong turned his attention to the cell across the corridor, which held the captured Straw Hats.
Luffy was fidgeting constantly. Arlong got the impression that he didn't like being stuck in one small space, even more so when he had a brother to save. Still, he'd been enduring so far.
Zoro was sleeping—to allow for the tight space, he was sleeping while sitting against a wall. Gutsy, but also quite logical considering what lay in the near future.
Usopp was sitting and mumbling to himself. If one paid close attention, he was mumbling about the layout of Impel Down, something Arlong had told him earlier today.
"Level Two's filled with vicious beasts… scary… but if we can drive 'em into a frenzy, it'll keep the guards distracted…"
Arlong felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't need more reminders that even one of the weakest Straw Hats should not be underestimated.
He looked away to see Sanji… pacing back and forth angrily.
"Those bastards… how dare they lust after Nami and Robin!?" Sanji said, practically spitting out the words.
The incident the human chef was talking about had happened while they were being loaded onto the Marine ship. Two of the Marines had been chatting about the capture.
"It's a shame we only bagged guys…"
"Yeah, wish we'd gotten the Straw Hat women too… could've had a little fun with 'em before they got sent to jail…"
Sanji looked on the verge of bursting into flames. Based on what Arlong had heard recently, that wasn't just a metaphorical statement.
"Calm down," Arlong said. "They're not in danger from these small fries."
"Yes, that sounds very convincing coming from your lips," Sanji said, glaring at Arlong through the bars of their respective cells. "Very convincing indeed."
"Yes, I know just how tough Nami is," Arlong said guiltily. "So cool it. There's no point worrying."
Zoro's eyes opened. "For once, I agree with Arlong," the human swordsman said. "If you keep this up, you'll just be a liability. Do you actually care about the mission, stupid cook?"
"Of course!" Sanji shot back. "Unlike you, I actually have enough room in my heart to also care about our own crew!"
The argument continued. Arlong had now learned that these two members of the Straw Hat Pirates were constantly at each other's throats. He'd also learned to tune them out whenever he wanted to think of other things.
That captain… didn't expect him to react that way…
Arlong recalled the Marine captain, Frederick, slapping his two subordinates on the backs of their heads.
"Have you forgotten who you are!?" Frederick had yelled. "Are those uniforms of yours just for show!? You are Marines, not thugs who lust over prisoners, or would-be prisoners! As punishment, you're both on deck-scrubbing duty for the next week!"
Arlong spent a while brooding on the past. Eventually, however, the current argument became too loud for him to keep ignoring.
"In the first place, what was with that pathetic fight back on Sabaody!?" Zoro said. "You're dragging down our reputation!"
"Pathetic!?" Sanji said, his spiralling eyebrow lifting up. "That's rich coming from you! I saw him," he pointed at Hatchan, "knock you down, and knock the swords out of your hands!"
"Now, now, let's try to all get along, nyoo," Hatchan said. "We were all just acting—"
"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" "STAY OUT OF IT! I STILL HAVEN'T FORGIVEN WHAT YOU ALL DID!"
The octopus fish-man wilted like a plant deprived of water.
"Look, let's just put this on hold for now," Arlong said exasperatedly. "Before we give away something we shouldn't."
Everyone else fell silent. Sanji and Zoro moved to opposite ends of their cell, sat down and ignored each other from then on.
The silence didn't last for very long, however. There was barely anything to do in these cells besides talk.
"Arlong."
That made the shark fish-man look at one of the few people to have ever defeated him.
"This Jinbe guy," Luffy continued in a low voice. "We heard he's one of the Seven Warlords. But just what is he like?"
Arlong was tempted to repeat his warning against giving away any secrets. However, there were no Marines nearby at the moment. Perhaps Frederick had ordered his subordinates to stay away from here, hoping to prevent a repeat of Arlong's previous breakout.
There were also benefits to some sharing of information. The two crews would be able to work together more effectively than they could now. And on top of that… Arlong might be able to settle some of his own doubts.
Now, what should I even say?
Arlong's feelings about Jinbe had been complicated for years, and had shifted over time. And his officers, his friends… they were the ones who'd gone off to East Blue with him, choosing him over Jinbe. They'd be hesitant to speak up before he did.
"Jinbe and us… we all grew up together, in the Fish-Man District," Arlong began uncertainly. "You didn't get the chance to see it, but until recently, it was a hellhole filled with thugs. We were some of those thugs."
That didn't arouse much of a reaction from Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. Usopp swallowed in fear. Apparently the first three had more experience with such hellholes than the fourth.
"Jinbe was one of those thugs too, and we got into fights more than once," Arlong said. "Also fought together more than once, against other guys who we hated more than we hated each other."
"When we were young, all of us were just doing our best to survive…" Hatchan said sadly.
"Until he came," Kuroobi said. "Fisher Tiger. Have you heard of him?"
Most shook their heads. Zoro, however, replied with, "Heard the name once, from some bounty hunters I was drinking with… One of 'em wished Fisher Tiger was still around, so he'd be able to bag that two hundred and thirty million bounty. Another guy called him stupid for it, said the first guy was too weak to pull it off. That's all I know."
"That second bounty hunter was right… but this is before Fisher Tiger got his bounty," Arlong said. "In the early days, he was only famous in the district. But he was… no other way to put it, he was the district's hero."
"He cracked our heads together until we started getting along," Chew said nostalgically. "He got us to actually work together for once, choo, instead of just knifing each other over scraps of food."
"Fisher Tiger got us to try learning proper skills, getting proper jobs," Arlong said.
"…Looking at you now, it seems you didn't listen to him," Sanji said in a low voice.
Arlong snorted. "We didn't. Jinbe did, though. He trained in the Fish-Man Karate Dojo, then got a proper job in the army… He even sent some of his pay back to the district, to support the kids who couldn't take care of themselves."
That was something that pained Arlong to this day. If he'd just applied himself earlier, if he'd tried harder to follow Fisher Tiger's vision… perhaps thing would be different now. Perhaps his old captain would still be alive.
"That came to an end one day," Arlong continued. "Fisher Tiger had been… leaving the island sometimes to go on adventures. The last time he came back, it was after attacking Mary Geoise to free the slaves."
The Straw Hats all reacted with shock and disbelief. That caused Arlong himself to feel a bit of shock—Fisher's Tiger's feat was still talked about to this day on Fish-Man Island.
"How did you not hear of this before?" Kuroobi asked.
"Nyoo, wait, it makes sense," Hatchan said. "The World Government would've tried to hush it up as much as they could."
"Couldn't have let the world know one fish-man raided the holy city and got away with it…" Chew said.
In hindsight, the Straw Hats' ignorance actually made sense. Fisher Tiger's bounty of two hundred and thirty million was less than Straw Hat's three hundred million, despite the former's feat being even more outrageous, suggesting a partial coverup. Furthermore, some of the Straw Hats—including all the ones here—originated from the Blues, and news from the Grand Line didn't always reach out there. Arlong had experienced that himself during his time on Conomi.
"Anyway, all of us joined up with Fisher Tiger, Jinbe included," Arlong said. "Together with the fish- and mermen he'd freed, we started the Sun Pirates."
Arlong and his friends all touched their sun brands: on Arlong's left shoulder, on the right side of Kuroobi's chest, on Hatchan's forehead and on Chew's back. Even now, they hadn't forgotten those glory days.
"Fisher Tiger led us on raids to free more slaves, and in fights against Marines who tried to stop us," Arlong said.
"It's hard to imagine you lot ever doing something so heroic," Zoro said. When the Arlong Pirates glared at him, he raised a hand. "Not saying you're lying, though."
"But… how could the Marines be defending slavery?" Usopp said, shaking his head slowly. "Heck, the World Nobles are doing it openly, and from what we heard, the Marine admirals defend them! Th-That can't actually be true… right?"
The other Straw Hats' expressions hardened. Arlong immediately understood why—he'd fought and lost to an admiral too, in a sense. He briefly wondered how the Straw Hats had gotten away from that encounter alive.
"It is, you'd better not forget it," Arlong said firmly. "Back to the story. We Sun Pirates kept going for three years, without any real problems…" He hesitated for a moment, then he decided to omit unnecessary details. "But it didn't last. We ran into a Marine ambush, a tough one. We managed to get away, even stole a Marine ship along the way… but…"
Hatchan burst into tears. "But Brother Tiger got shot a hundred times!"
Kuroobi and Chew patted the octopus fish-man on the back. They looked like they were about to cry as well.
Arlong scanned the surroundings, but there were still no signs of any Marines nearby. He took a deep breath.
"…He could've survived even that," Arlong said. His three friends immediately looked at him in surprise. "He could've survived all those bullets, if he'd gotten a blood transfusion. But none of us shared his blood type, and the only blood stocked on that Marine ship was human blood."
"That doesn't work for guys like you?" Luffy asked.
Arlong hesitated. What he was about to confess was something he'd personally vowed to never let any human know. It was the shameful secret that he'd been willing to defend to his dying breath.
But that had been before Hody.
"We can take human blood," Arlong replied. "It was Fisher Tiger that refused."
"Even to save his own life?" Zoro said, sounding surprised.
Arlong looked at his three friends. They were all staring at him with gaping mouths. After all, it wasn't necessary to reveal this much when the original question had just been about Jinbe.
"…It was because of what he told us next," Arlong said. "That he used to be a slave to humans… to the World Nobles. That raid he did on Mary Geoise? He did that… already having intel on the place. That's why… he couldn't bear to have… human blood in him…"
The Straw Hats were silent for a good long while. Eventually, Sanji cleared his throat and said, "That's… a major secret you just revealed. But why tell us?"
"Because otherwise you wouldn't understand what happened next, not one bit," Arlong said. "What Fish—what Brother Tiger told us, and then him dying afterwards… it broke the Sun Pirates. He was our leader, the one we all looked up to. With him gone, we had no idea what to do next." He clenched his fists. "Me least of all… I… did something stupid, got taken by the Marines, got sent to Impel Down. Then I got let out… because Jinbe asked for it."
"He got you out, just like that?" Luffy said. "So that's why he became a Warlord?"
Arlong was left dumbfounded by these words.
"Not just that, choo," Chew replied. "He became a Warlord also to get amnesty for the former slaves in the Sun Pirates. That way, they could go home to Fish-Man Island, if they wanted."
"Jinbe was also our new captain, in the meantime!" Hatchan chimed in. He glanced nervously at Arlong. "He was an… okay… captain, nyoo."
Arlong was barely even registering the conversation now. He was too swept up in his own thoughts.
Back then… I thought he'd given up on Brother Tiger's legacy, was too scared to keep defying the World Government. I thought him getting amnesty for us all was just to make it seem less cowardly.
But that wasn't it. He did it because he wanted to be someone Brother Tiger would be proud of. Because he didn't want any of his brothers having to fight, when they wanted to go home…
…or any of his brothers rotting in jail.
"So he got Arlong out of Impel Down," Zoro said, now looking at the person in question. "But it doesn't look like you agreed to serve under him, unlike your old captain."
"…No," Arlong said. "I was… I was disgusted at him becoming a government dog, thought he was scum who didn't deserve to call himself a fish-man anymore. We… argued, then split up. Me and my supporters went off to form the Arlong Pirates, went off to the East Blue… and you know the rest."
That made the atmosphere tense again.
"Something else you should know," Kuroobi said quickly. "Jinbe didn't just let us go off on our own. If he ever heard about what we were doing, he would've stopped us for sure."
"And that's why I bought off the local Marines to keep it quiet," Arlong finished. "Because Jinbe's not the sort who can be bought off. And he's not the sort who'd let pirates enslave innocent people, even if those pirates were fish-men, even if they were his former brothers in arms. And like you heard from the prince just yesterday, Jinbe did find out when he came to the island recently. For that, he beat me up, then made me start cleaning up the Fish-Man District." He let out a sigh. "That's the kind of man Jinbe is. Happy now, Straw Hat?"
"…Yeah," Luffy said. "Things make a bit more sense now."
"I still don't trust any of you," Zoro said bluntly. "But it doesn't sound like you were lying. So just for this mission, I'm willing to work with you. Don't let us down."
"This doesn't make up for what you did to Nami's home, or to anyone else you killed or plundered along the way," Sanji said. There wasn't any trace of simpering adoration in his voice now, just an iron will. "When this mission's done, if I see any of your crew outside Fish-Man Island, their life is forfeit."
Usopp looked around nervously. "Um, uh, so this is a lot to take in…" He cleared his throat. "So, it sounds like, you've all been through a lot… and this Jinbe sounds like a decent guy… Anyway, I just hope that we b-both rescue the people we're going for…"
Arlong relaxed, as did his officers. They could never have freed Jinbe on their own, even with Arlong's insider knowledge of Impel Down. Their only hope was to get the help of the Straw Hats and their skill at doing the impossible.
"Those answers are as much as we can expect," Arlong said. He quickly scanned the surroundings again and confirmed no Marine presence. "So, Straw Hat, mind explaining just how you're brothers with one of Whitebeard's commanders?"
-ooo-
A few hours later, night had fallen. Most of the prisoners were snoring loudly. Perhaps one or two of them were only pretending to sleep, but that didn't matter to Arlong right now.
Hatchan tapped him on the shoulder. "A-Arlong, do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go ahead," said Arlong, currently lying on the floor.
"W-Well, it's about what you said earlier…"
Arlong sighed. He knew Kuroobi and Chew were just as curious about this topic as Hatchan. It was possible that they were now pretending to sleep but actually listening in on this conversation.
"What you confessed about Brother Tiger…" Hatchan said. "I never thought you'd ever confess that to any human, nyoo. Especially not ones that… beat you, and us."
"Neither did I," Arlong muttered. "But that lie I told the Marines, about Brother Tiger dying because of humans refusing him blood… it caused too many problems. It's time I set it straight."
"I guess so, nyoo," Hatchan said. He glanced at the sleeping Straw Hats. "Still can't believe we're actually working with them now. When you first told us your plan, Arlong, I th-thought my ears were playing tricks on me."
"It was our only chance, if we wanted to succeed," Arlong said. "And…"
Arlong recalled the past again. He recalled some of Fisher Tiger's final words, his declaration that he could never love humans.
Even when you said that, Brother Tiger… you were crying. You hated yourself… hated so much you didn't even care you were dying…
"…it's what Brother Tiger would've wanted."
AN: To clarify, the bounties for the Arlong Pirates increased offscreen due to them breaking out of captivity and committing further crimes.
Interestingly, I couldn't find the location of Chew's Sun Pirates brand on the wiki. It seems that it's just never been revealed in canon, so I made up a location.