Chapter 12: Hostile Encounters, of words and swords.
Alright. I am officially closing the results for who will fight Arlong in the next chapter. The Results:
1) Luffy vs. Arlong: 17
2) Kakashi vs. Arlong: 10
3) Sasuke+Naruto vs. Arlong: 3
(Note=To me, the only way Sasuke and Naruto could have won against Arlong, would be Naruto pulling out his inner-demon. I had multiple scenario's planned so this fight would have some parallels with both of them against Haku without being a carbon copy. And the repercussions of the rest of the crew seeing that side of Naruto.)
To be honest these votes actually surprised me, but majority rules in this case and I will stick with the popular demand. Luffy vs. Arlong, while Kakashi has his own job to do…
Please Read and Review.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece.
"Where is it? It was right here just yesterday morning! How could that much treasure have disappeared like that!" Nami screeched near the top of her lungs.
"Nami, be careful with how loud you are. Or Arlong and the others might notice and come looking."
The navigator's head rose to a doorway, and the comforting sight of a tattooed woman older than herself, her face carrying patience and assurance.
"I'm not doubting that the loot you found was here when you left. Why don't you go over what happened? Is there a chance they might have hidden the treasure somewhere aboard?"
The girls were in the Going Merry's Meeting Room. Nami's eye made another sweep around the room, but nothing stuck out or came to mind.
"No. Those guys weren't smart enough to hide their stuff like that, Nojiko. And I made sure the ninjas never left this boat carrying anything. The last time I saw the treasure was just before the older one was carrying those scrolls in here," pointing to a stack of five over in one corner.
"He didn't leave carrying anything else, and when I asked he said they were some personal belongings he wanted to bring along.
Frustration clawing through her, Nami walked over to the table. Pulling out a chair before she slid, planting her elbows on the table and resting her head in her palms.
It was morning, following her first restless night since running into Luffy and Zoro. At the first sight of dawn, Nami had moved the Going Merry from the wharf at Arlong Park. But after she went looking for the treasure, the unpleasant revelation ensued.
Raising one hand, she slammed a fist on the table.
"Damn it! This is the third time I've searched! I know it was here before I left! All that treasure! I never thought to check on it after Don Krieg arrived before throwing Ussop overboard. Then I had to stay outside to watch where I was sailing too and was so distracted worrying about those damn ninjas chasing me. Once Arlong Park came in sight, all the fishmen grabbed my attention and I never even thought about an extra look in here!" she cursed into the air.
"Hey, get your chin up. You're still more than close to that 100,000,000 and selling this ship certainly can net us another a few million anyways," Nojiko coaxed, sitting down opposite to Nami.
"Please, save it Nojiko. If I can find where this loot was moved to, then I'll be one small job away from that goal. We could even pocket those few million you mentioned for selling this boat," Nami growled lightly.
"Well. You'll just have to put up with my optimism," The older sibling reminded her.
"I can't let my little sister drag herself down like that at all. You remember what Bellemere would say, don't you? Keep on smiling even during hard times. After all, you still have me and our home,"
Some minutes passed in silence, before Nami raised her head, glancing around the room. Memories of the few brief days with three boys were found in every corner, even the injured partners they had picked up and a bright, smiling boy with blonde hair.
Eventually, she stood up, with a smile that shocked Nojiko to her core.
"You're right," a murmur came from Nami's tiny smile. "Dwelling on set-backs probably wouldn't be what she would want at all. I just need to keep working harder to fill out this bargain," her arm was moving to the hateful tattoo on her left shoulder.
"It…it's been a while since I visited her. Hasn't it?" a rhetorical question came from Nami, while Nojiko remained stumped in her seat.
"Come on. Let's get going."
Minutes later the sisters left the ship and were moved along the coastline towards a destination they knew all too painfully. Nojiko herself kept a close eye on her surrogate baby sister, working up the courage to ask.
Soon they found the grave. A simple cross on the cliff-side, overlooking the bay. Nami stepped forward, kneeling before her true mother's resting place
"Bellemere…I'm…sorry I haven't come here for a long while. And for losing the money somewhere on the way back," a soft voice came passed the lump in her throat.
"I've been busy. Things with Arlong haven't been as bad as they could be. Now, I'm just 13,000,000 bellies away."
"I was gone for a long time on this last trip. I even ran into a couple of Marines and other pirates from the Grand Line. Some wanted me to join them. I said no, you know I care about Cocoyoshi village and Arlong too much to do that. But…"
The girl took a deep breath and passed through her, fighting to keep tears from spilling out of her eyes.
"But I admit. I'm having some trouble forgetting this one group I found…"
"N…Nami?"
"Hmm? Yeah, what is it Nojiko?" she asked.
"You…back there on the boat. You actually smiled. I know how rare that is for you after Arlong came here. What came across your mind to bring something like that out?"
"hhhhhhhh. Well," a downcast looked crossed over the enslaved navigator's face.
"This time…the group I suckered to get that ship. They…they were different from everyone else I found before. I…I just went with them for a quick ride, but soon we ran into more than a few tight squeezes, and they had my back."
Several memories came to her mind, of storms and stupidity, or the different fights she had been forced into by Luffy and Ussop. A group of three children came through her mind behind them, girl-talk, and a pair of boys that reflected two sides of herself, the avenger and the joker.
"The truth is. When I was with them I…I completely forgot about the pain I bear. We went through quite a bit, but then…then more people came, and they…they almost reminded me of myself, and of Bellemere."
"A group of kids and this grey-haired man, their teacher. You probably wouldn't believe what I could tell you about them. But…two boys…they reminded me a lot of myself."
"We're nothing like you, betrayer!" an angry voice invaded their privacy. Nojiko whirled in surprise, finding two children she did not recognize standing in the forest some meters away. One had long pink hair and made concerned glances at her partner; a dark-haired boy with deep fury channelling towards Nami.
"You even mentioned the name of the man who murdered your own mother, then speak about working for him with pride!" the boy accused her, with red eyes dotted with three tomoe orbiting the pupils, two in one, a single in the other.
"Sasuke-kun!" the girl spoke up, "You heard from Kakashi-sensei, didn't you? She does that for a reason, to help her village become free. She deserves a chance to explain herself more than that."
"Excuse me," Nojiko interposed, stepping between them and her younger sister.
"To start off, who are the pair of you, and why have you come here? And second, what do you know about us at all, or our lives and struggles?"
The younger girl stepped forward to reply, but Nami beat her to it.
"Sasuke and Sakura?! How and when did the both of you get here?!"
"Umm…K-Kakashi-sensei was able to track you, Miss. Nami," Sakura responded. "Back at the Baratie I talked with Johnny and Yosaku about where Arlong has been hiding, and we realized you were coming here. We arrived here yesterday but decided to look around the village to see what was going on. Kakashi-sensei went into Arlong-park and-"
"Somebody did what!? If he gets caught then Arlong will be angry and-…."
The sister's exclamations were silenced, by a slicing prick on their cheeks. Nami raised her hand, feeling a warm sensation trickle between her fingertips. Drawing it back, a thin line of blood covered her palm.
"He won't get caught," Sasuke spoke in an icy tone, his arm extended before an upward gesture followed. A pair of slicing edges skimmed past their ears, seconds before Sasuke caught them in his fingers; two shuriken connected to his hand by a thin wire appeared.
"Sasuke-kun, why did you do that?!" Sakura pleaded with him. "Kakashi-sensei told us how Miss. Nami was being extorted into working for him! None of this is her fault?!"
Sasuke didn't take his eyes off Nami and Nojiko.
"Kakashi is a Jonin, an elite ninja. He won't get caught sneaking around unless he wants someone to find him. He was inside yesterday when those marines attacked and overheard Arlong talking about a woman he killed, your mother."
Noticing the reactions from the two women before him, Sasuke folded his arms, keeping disparaging eyes trained on Nami.
"There aren't any Fish-men around, we made sure before coming out into the open. So, are you able to explain why you are working to help the man who has your mother's blood-stained over his hands, unavenged?"
"Because from what Sakura learned from the villagers here, you joined Arlong willingly and betrayed your home and family just for creature comforts!"
Nokijo frowned at the boy, reminded of another she had met the day before who was stupid enough to attack Arlong Park. She began to walk over to the boy, only for Nami to shove past her and swing a hay-maker at him, first.
The boy shuffled back to avoid the hit, while the girl duct out of the way. Nami's hand slipped into her cleavage, pulling out the sections of her bow-staff and taking swings at Sasuke. Sakura watched the Uchiha effortlessly evading all her strikes, with only millimetres between the solid wood and his skin. Sasuke was showing off.
Nami herself sun around, thrusting out with the butt of her staff. Sasuke sidestepped it and cut at her hand with a kunai in his left. With a scream, Nami dropped her weapon and fell to her knees, but Sasuke was not finished. The boy stepped back his arms outwards in a dramatic stance, as Nami was fixed in place, bound by several ninja-wires wrapped around her entire body.
Nojiko and Sakura gasped at the sight of Nami trapped in Sasuke's grip. As the Uchiha's face remained a mask of iron, he pulled harder, causing Nami to whisper, the thin wire cutting into her skin.
"Stop!" Nojiko rushed forward, calling Sasuke's attention away from his prey.
"Nami is my little sister, and she already has to suffer enough under Arlong's enslavement! Tell me, how did you meet Nami, and what right do you have to disparage her over our dead mother?"
Sasuke glared at the older girl, a cold, piercing look, but not for long. Shuriken quickly severed his wires, and Nami slumped forward free from his trap. Sakura suddenly appeared between her teammate and the other two, her hands raised to press them apart
"Stop! Miss. Nami was part of the pirate crew we had joined around one week ago. They promised to help us find our way back home after we became separated from it. During an attack by a Pirate called Don Krieg, Miss. Nami stole our ship, the Going Merry."
Nojiko blinked, trying to process how such young children could be accepted onto a pirate boat. As Sakura's green eyes met the distorted brown ones that Nami carried.
"We managed to follow you here, Miss. Nami. Yesterday, Kakashi-sensei overheard Arlong gloating about killing your mother and about the deal you made the buy the freedom of your village for 100,000,000 bellies. But I'm guessing that you couldn't find the treasure on board?"
Nami blinked, before shooting to her feet. She lost, her footing, though, and Nojiko caught her before the ground could add further agony.
"Where? You didn't leave it at that restaurant, did you?!"
Sakura shook her head.
"Kakashi-sensei hid the treasure onboard the ship. In a way that only a ninja could find it, in case someone tried poking around and stole it. Or Luffy-san wasted all of the treasure on food. If you tell us what is going on here, then Sasuke and I might be able to uncover it for you."
Nami blinked, while Nojiko eyed everyone carefully, with her own ideas in mind.
"Nami," calling her sister's attention.
"We need to get those cuts and your hand taken care of. As for the two of you."
"Follow us. If you want to know the truth, then out in the open is not the best place to share it. We'll lead you to our home. But, only if you both give your word not to confront the Arlong pirates. We don't need you solving our problems for us, or risk them growing worse."
Sakura dropped her arms, but…
"I don't see anything that needs further explanations," Sasuke spoke up.
"These eyes can see far more than an average human can. Nami has betrayed you and your mother by not taking revenge on the man who killed her. Eight years have passed, that you have spent working as his underling, rather than dedicating yourself to revenge. Pursuing it for the death of your family was something you refused to even consider, even so far as to take his mark on your shoulder and wear it with pride. You—"
"Shut up!" Nojiko hissed. She met Sasuke's eyes, wide and carrying a fury that lit a spark of fear in the self-righteous avenger.
"Revenge. Listen carefully, and ensure that you understand, boy. I don't care who you are. If you despise Nami for your reasons then that is none of my business. Though I can tell you cannot comprehend our lives, because you lack the most crucial element for revenge."
Sasuke was filled with a fresh wave of hate, her accusations at the words from his old brother coming forth to his mind.
"Patience. It takes time. Should you know of our mother, then you know I suffer as well… Revenge is not an easy path for one to carve out. You don't have what it takes to suffer for revenge. I can tell. You believe it has to be pursued and honed, consuming your every thought for all minutes of the day. But should you rush, and take revenge before you are truly ready, then I can guarantee you will fail, and those you care about will find no rest because you were too foolish.
As her tirade finished, Nojiko turned along the path, supporting Nami with one arm over her shoulders.
"You don't have the patience to suffer for revenge, as we have for all this time. If you want to learn more, then follow us. Or run off and let all of it be for nothing."
Sakura blinked, before turning to Sasuke. His sharingans were no longer active, and the boy even appeared shaken and chastised. Wordlessly, Sakura placed a hand on her crush's shoulder. With a quick glance, they both followed Nojiko into the forest.
Elsewhere on the island, Zoro strode down a path near a series of rice patties. Glancing around, he didn't spy any fishmen there then ducked into the nearby foliage and began roving about. Before taking light stop by a tree.
'Hhhhhhhhh,' Moving one hand over his chest, Zoro had been fighting an itch beneath layers of bandages covering the stitched-up token Hawkeyes had left. 'I definitely owe one to Sakura for finding that doctor yesterday. He was damn annoying, making such a big deal out of nothing before he got to stitching me up. Plus, we learned how he needed money for this month's tribute."
As the symbol of the said pirate crew came to his mind, Zoro raised a hand to his forehead, 'Damn. This business with Nami is worse than I'd have ever thought it be. Working for the bastard across eight years, and stealing enough to buy freedom for her home on the side? Never thought she'd have the selflessness for that.'
Focusing himself, Zoro pulled back up to his feet. 'There's no point starting anything until Luffy and the others get here. Still, spending time only with these ninjas has been pretty awesome. Nobody told them that bad joke Nami, Luffy and Ussop use about me getting lost. It better not turn into a running gag with this crew.'
Shrugging off his thoughts, Zoro stood up and began to move towards Nami's house.
"Kakashi made a good call sending me to keep watch for the other once they arrive. Now, if I only find where those damn fishmen moved the coastline too," he grumbled, ignorantly lost once again.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were following Nami and Nojiko into a tangerine orchard. Sakura glanced around, smiling at how well-tended the fruit trees were, some flowering with the season and others with fresh fruits ready to pluck off their branches. Trying to distract herself from the storm churning in Sasuke's eyes.
'Sasuke-kun…why would he attack Miss. Nami so suddenly like that? He's not as angry as he had been after we were dropped here by that Genie, but I'm still a little scared to even say anything to him. He wasn't like this at all back at the Academy, no matter what came up or who said anything to him. Why has this business with Miss. Nami leaving us gotten him so riled up?'
"Sit somewhere at the table inside," Nojiko's voice broke into her thoughts. Looking ahead, Sakura noticed they had come to a small house. Walking inside she glanced around, finding a single bed in the corner, a small kitchenette, and small personal touches around the house.
Sasuke did the same until he spied a photo on one table by the wall. In it were two children younger than he was now, one with orange hair clinging to the arm of a slender woman, sporting a daring hairstyle with shaved sides, short bangs and a ponytail. She had a cigarette in her mouth, and a smile that he could easily place.
"Is that her, your mother?" Sakura spoke up, while Sasuke remained silent. "She has the same kind of smile as Miss. Nami. Though...wait!" She scrutinized the sisters, Nami facing the kitchen with her back to the younger girl, then pointed at the photo. "Her eyes and hair, and yours! None of you share them, and those are hereditary traits! Did she adopt you both?"
Neither of them moved for a moment. Until Nojiko set Nami down on a chair and moved into the kitchen.
"Yes, she did. Nami and I both lost our genetic parents to a fight between a pirate crew and the Marines when we were small children. I was a toddler, and Nami was an infant. Bellemere was with the Marines during that fight and wounded quite badly. Still, she managed to rescue us both and get us back to this village through a storm."
Carrying a first-aid kit, Nojiko sat down beside Nami and began to bandage up the shallow gashes left by the sharp-wire.
"Afterwards, she decided she wanted to be a mother for the pair of us, and we lived with her right her for years. Life wasn't too easy though, and we didn't have a lot of money for three people to live together. But, she still made the most out of what she had, and then some. Those were the happiest times in our lives. Until it was all stolen from us by a monster."
Sakura blinked, her respect and sympathy for the sisters rising further. Memories of Tazuna, the bridge builder telling them about Kaiza and Inari stoked those feelings even further.
"Tell us more" Sasuke's voice came to them. He was seated at their table across from the pair. Nojiko glared at him, even causing the boy to flinch under her gaze.
"Are you going to attack us again if you aren't satisfied with the story behind our lives? What assurance can you give me that if something comes up that you disapprove of, you won't hurt Nami any further?"
Before he could respond, a heavy pouch fell on the table. Sakura was standing there, her ninja pouch unbuckled and removed.
"These pouches contain any weapons that we carry, including shuriken and kunai. If Sasuke removed his and placed it where you could see, and we both kept our hands on the table, will that be enough?"
Everyone blinked at the youngest girl present before Nojiko nodded her head. Sasuke did the same, confident that if danger were to come, he could still evade it and weave hand signs for ninjutsu. As they moved, Nami began to fidget.
"Hey, hold still, Nami. Yeah it stings, but ch'you just gotta suck it up," her sister complained.
"It's nothing, you know that Nojiko. Quit—Ow!" Nami had started in a tough tone until Nojiko flicked her forehead none too lightly.
"Save that tough act for another time. You know you can't hide anything from me."
Sasuke…couldn't….move. The gesture he'd watched. Unconsciously, his hand rose to his own forehead. '"Sorry Sasuke…a gentle poke came just above his eyebrows…"some other time….."'
After she finished with Nami, Nojiko asked if they wanted any tea. With some requests, she moved into the kitchen and began a long explanation.
"Nojiko!" Nami called over, in a callous, detached voice. "This is none of their business. If they know about my deal with Arlong, then we just need to know who to get that treasure. Then they can leave without any problems at all."
"Nami," Nojiko began, again. "If they know the full story, then it will make them back off much easier, probably even leave instead of staying around and causing more harm than good. Like they said before, more crew members are on their way."
"Now, you children. Listen closely. Bellemere, our mother. She was the entire world to Nami and me. None of us were related by blood, but the emotions we carried for each other and the home she gave us made us true family. More than that, when Bellemere found us, she was on the verge of death from her wounds. Seeing us, especially Nami, gave her reasons to cling to life, and she got us back to her home village through a storm that should have killed her."
"Nami and I were the reasons Bellemere found to continue living. We became the centres of her world, and her the centre of ours. Our lives together were not smooth sailing. Some things like money were pretty tight, she would even starve herself sometimes to make sure Nami and I wouldn't want for anything."
The blue-haired woman laughed, half-heartedly. "Nami would even steal a few things in the village and always had a cheeky reply for anyone who complained," with a tiny, impish grin at her sister.
"Hey!" the navigator pouted in reply. "You are the one who beat up a boy one time, not me!"
"That was after he bad-mouthed one of our Tangerines. And you know that Nami!" her older sibling shot back. Before the pair of them let out a soft chuckle. The moment of happiness quickly passed, and a sombre mood returned.
Nojiko went further, detailing more about their lives together. She described a woman with an attitude nobody could match, a heart of gold towards her daughters, giving anything she could to them, no matter what it cost Bellemere herself.
"She always had a reason, or an excuse. She was on a new diet, or certain foods were better for her skin. But children and only be fooled for so long."
"Bellemere cared more about being a mother to us than anything else in her life. And…that was why…why she died."
"Eight years ago. Arlong and his crew arrived on our island. Nami and I were in the village when they stormed in, demanding 100,000 bellies for every adult and 50,000 for every child, non-negotiable. The villagers knew Bellemere couldn't' have saved up enough to pay 200,000 for the three of us, and he didn't notice our house at first. But…she had been cooking a special meal for us, and the smoke from the chimney gave her away."
Sakura was trying to stay composed. To hear so much about an incredible woman, with the awareness that she had been murdered, was almost more than her sheltered heart could take. Sasuke had become more aloof, until the story moved towards Bellemere's death and the tension from him began to grow.
"Bellemere tried to fight back, she even held Arlong at gunpoint with a rifle in his mouth. But he snapped the barrel in half with his jaws. The village lawman, Genzo tried to deceive the pirates, thinking Nami and I could escape from the island if we hid long enough. But Bellemere knew better. She had been a marine, so it was simple for her to know Arlong had destroyed any ships to prevent us from leaving the island and telling the Marines what happened."
"She proclaimed that Nami and I were her daughters, and that she refused to deny us, even if it cost her…(gulp)…her life," Nojiko's composure began to slip, while Nami's head was downcast, the memories of her pain sharp and deep.
"Arlong…he murdered her. Right…in front…of us. But that was not the worst of it."
"Huh?!" "What?!" both of the Genin spoke up.
"After he killed her, one of Arlong's men found a map of the island, that Nami had drawn. Even at ten years old, Nami had amazing talent as a cartographer, and that monster recognized it. So, he abducted Nami, taking her with his crew…as virtually a slave."
Sakura gulped, while Sasuke's face was blank. Focused solely on how to comprehend being forcibly taken by the man who destroyed his life…
…..that was one fate he had been spared of.
"Arlong took me," Nami took over from her sister.
"The first thing I saw after that was how Arlong sunk five marine ships easier than you can throw through shuriken knives. He…he forced me…to join his crew…by giving me this mark on my shoulder," her hand clenching the tattoo of the Arlong pirates.
"But I still want to be free, and for my home to be safe. So, I made that deal with Arlong. I would buy Cocoyoshi village from him for 100,000,000 bellies and spend the rest of my time drawing maps and sea charts for him."
"Nobody inside the village knows, either," she explained, shocking Sakura and Sasuke even further.
"After…he gave me…this mark. I went back to them and acted like I only cared about money. It's my problem to solve, so nobody will intervene and make things worse."
Nami raised her head, meeting the pair of Genin with eyes both desperate and dead.
"That is why I need the money onboard that ship. It's taken a while. But with the money onboard the Going Merry, I'll be 7,000,000 short of that goal. And if you or the others come here, talking about how you know me or try to start a fight with Arlong…"
"If we…do that, then he'll…take it out on…the village and likely…kill everyone you have been working…working hard to protect all…this…time," Sasuke finished for her, his tone soft, light, a wisp in the breeze. "All of the work you've thrown in will be for nothing."
The shift in the boy's attitude left the three females stumped. Gradually, he filled his lungs, then let a cleansing breath through his mouth. With a fresh question in his mind.
"Tell me. Have you ever thought about trying to kill Arlong at all? If you're on his crew, then slipping him poison or a surprise attack would—"
"—I did," she whispered.[1] Nearly loud as a cricket, Nami's words stopped Sasuke easily. A pair of wide, shocked eyes burst forth in response.
"I tried a few sneak attacks, poisoning him, even a straight-up assassination.
Her hands curled into taunt fists, her arm trembling with hatred. "I did try, and all of those methods. Failed."
Sasuke looked forward, his eyes nearly as dead as Nami's. Slowly, she dropped her head, while Sasuke tried to process what she had described. 'Failure. Failing…to take revenge…'
Several, minutes passed, and nobody said a word. It was some time before they noticed Nami had fallen lightly asleep.
"Hmmm. Talking about everything must have taken a lot out of Nami," Nojiko observed.
"Hang on!" Sakura requested. "I'll get her a blanket," rising from her chair and drawing a scroll from her pouch. In a second, she unfurled it, formed three hand-signs, and a thick blanket appeared in the middle. One she gently draped over Nami, while Nojiko looked over in awe.
After making sure Nami was comfortable, Sakura gulped down past a stubborn lump in her throat. Awe and horror filled her mind.
'Miss. Nami…you became little more than a slave to Arlong after what he did. Not even Inari had it that bad with Gato, or Zabuza. You must hate him, but you still pushed beyond that hatred and suffering to do what you know is right. The villagers clearly don't know, or they don't care enough to notice how badly you have been suffering for…eight…years. I can't imagine what kind of life that can be like. There's nobody in the Leaf Village who suffers that much discrimination, ostracism or carries a burden that terrible.'
"H…how…?" her eyes darted from the paper to the very real blanket Sakura had drawn.
"Where did that blanket come from?"
As the two Genin had been learning about Nami's life, Zoro was still working to find his way around the island.
"Damn it, who dropped me on top of this damn tree!" Zoro muttered, one hand on his hip, the other around the trunk of a palm tree. And trying to figure out how he'd gotten there.
"What's the big idea of this place? Do the fishmen shift everything around like those up-turned houses back there? Still, be a pretty good way to keep people on this island by making sure they'd get lost."
Once he reached the ground, Zoro spied a cloud up in the sky.
'Hmmm. It looks, kinda like one of Sasuke's shuriken. Well, guess I'll use it as a way-point to get around here,' he decided. Turning back the direction he'd come from.
'Hm! Someone's been through here recently,' he thought, bending down to examine the tracks.
'Must've just missed them. Well, no reason for them to leave, so the coast is probably somewhere around where they came from.'
He strolled off, taking a few turns, forming a pentagon of directions, everywhere but the coastline.
"OOOOPH!" Zoro grunted, stumbling back from the solid mass he'd turned directly into.
"Hey, watch it-whaaaa! A Sword!"
Reflexively, one hand grasped Wado Ichimonji. Zoro's eyes open, to a spear flying for his head! He threw himself back, shifting his balance to keep both feet planted, evading the blade by centimetres. As the spear drew back, Zoro recovered, shifting Wado and taking a stance. Ten fishmen were gathered before him, each of them armed for a fight.
"That human is defying Arlong's authority here, no weapons are permitted to be in their possession!"
"We came out here to train and looks like free practice came along."
"Take the sword!"
Two in the front rushed Zoro, and the swordsman fought back on instinct. Four minutes later, the clearing was littered with wounded enemies, as Zoro clicked Wado back into his sheath.
'Damn. With only one sword, that took way too long. Better make myself scarce, in case someone comes along.'
Running from the same battle site, he dashed through various trees until one he arrived at a pathway, with rice paddies across from the forest.
"What! Damn, I'm back here again!" he cursed, but before he could run away-
"Hey! Hey there, you swordsman! Identifying yourself immediately!" The man cursed himself, turning around…to find a familiar sight three meters away.
"Hmm? Oh! Hey, I know you. You're the black-haired swordsman from yesterday,"[2] a tall, Octopus Fishman called over, with two arms pointed upwards, and four on his waist.
"Ummmm. O, yeah, I remember you. Hatchan-san, was it?" Zoro asked, playing along since the black dye was still in his hair.
"You remembered, nyu. I'm quite glad that you did! Looks to me like that doctor in the village did help you out yesterday. Hey, where is your sister, ~nyu? Did she get lost, or something?"
The fishman asked, his arms flowing in wavy motions with the wind.
"Ummm. Yeah. She did," Zoro plainly lied. "This morning she wandered off to look around, but I haven't seen her since sunrise. She usually goes to look out at the sea whenever we're away from home. Kinda gets homesick."
"Hmmm. I see. I can understand that a little bit. I haven't been at my own home for nearly 12 years now, nyu," Hatchi confessed.
"Yeah. Hey, could you tell me how to find my way to the coastline? If I walk along it, finding her shouldn't be much of a problem." Zoro suggested.
"Oh! Well, I can't let humans wander around these islands to do as they want. But missing family can still be important. Nyuu!"
The fishman grabbed a large pot nearby on the ground, lifting it to his shoulder before walking forward, passing Zoro and grasping his hand on the way.
"Come with me. I'll head to the coastline and give you a ride in this barrel through the water. And if she isn't there, the only other place would be in the forest. Can't leave a little girl like her out on her own! ~nyu."
As the fishman dragged Zoro towards the water, Kakashi snuck into Arlong Park. Hidden carefully, the Jonin had been watching Arlong's crew with exceptional care, along with spying on the various rooms inside Arlong Park.
'They certainly have been there for a long time. There was quite the collection of weapons, supplies, medical resources and money stored in here. This Arlong is certainly a miser, but there was far too much in there to just be solely from a single village. He's running quite the protection racket around here. Hm?'
The Jonin continued to explore the fortress, taking care not to be noticed by anyone. By then it was approaching mid-day when something unexpected happened.
"Hey, boss! Boss! That Marine Nezumi and his scummy crew finally got here!" a voice came from the courtyard.
"Oh, finally. What kept that man a full day late? Hatchi, you and Chew go out to meet him. Shioyaki, Mashuru, Rokoro, Itakami, Riesten! I want the five of you to hide below the waves and keep your eyes open for any funny business."
"Chew…boss, is that really necessary? We can overpower them without a sweat. You know that-chew," a familiar voice came in response.
"I don't want to take any chances, brother. He is a full day off schedule. I would not put it passed the rat to consider turning us in somewhere and bringing more trouble down on himself Should that happen, it will be bothersome to find and negotiate with another Marine captain."
As the fishmen departed, Kakashi slipped down to the outdoors. A quick substitution, and he was outside the walls, just far enough to still listen in on the meeting between this new arrival and Arlong.
Several minutes later, the sounds of their approach travelled over the water, and new footsteps were heard inside.
"What kept you so long, Nezumi?" Arlong opened the discussion.
"Chi. A troublesome and insolent crew decided to attack us out of the blue. They were a group of only five total, and moving too close to this island, so I decided to remove them. One had devil-fruit powers though and got a lucky shot in. Still, he is quite gone by now, so nothing should concern you at all."
Silence ensured for an uncomfortable length before Kakahsi heard a few beings approach the table, placing stacks of paper nearby.
"Here is this month's take. I hope you enjoy it," Arlong's voice rose.
"Chi chi chi chi chi chi! I must save, those scum we ran into could certainly take lessons in their intellect from you, Arlong. You know how the world works, and how many doors can open with the right persuasion."
"Shahahahaha! Indeed! And you as well. Few Marines know that befriending me would mean they can milk the East Blue for all eternity. You and I are alike of mind in that regard."
'So, it's a pay-off to this Marine captain,' Kakashi realized. 'He simply takes easy money and leaves these people to suffer. Including my comrade, Nami-san. Well, it seems I will be paying this Marine a visit as he leaves.'
Hatake Kakashi promised to himself, before listening to Arlong's rising voice.
"As a rule, I hate all humans. But you are the one tolerable exception that I found. But on to more pressing matters. I have a favour that solely you can resolve. One that will bring a far larger payout than usual."
"Hm? More money," the shrilly voice, laced with greed, of the Marine came.
"Yes," Arlong spoke up. "You see, one of the people here in the village has been saving up quite a lot of money for a while. Their plans were to buy freedom for their people, per an agreement made between her and myself. Still, doing that would cost me a valuable crewmate, so that really isn't an option for me. Should I raise the price, things may become ugly, and their trust in my goodwill may decline. Plus, as one of my few flaws, I am the kind of fish-man who would never break a deal related to money."
Kakashi's single eye widened at Arlong's predicament. While Nezumi clearly caught on fast.
"Chi chi chi chi chi chi chi chi! So, you want me to seize this treasure hoard and confiscate it? Well, how can I say no to that? After all, it is stolen property and thereby has no business being kept by such petty thieves. Otherwise, order would collapse, and things would get out of hand."
"Hmm," Arlong's smirk was easy to hear.
"Glad to see you are so amicable. Kuroobi?"
"Yeah. Right here, Along," another officer spoke up, followed by a ruffle anyway less than a Shinobi would have missed.
"The treasure should be held somewhere near a tangerine orchard I have marked on that map. Keep the lot of it as you want. With it away…shahahahahahaha! Then that feisty little kitten will stay with my crew forever, drawing maps and sea charts for the rise of the Arlong Empire!"
Kakashi had heard enough. Running through the new priorities in his mind, he left Arlong Park with a careful body-flicker.
'I need to warn Nami, Sakura and Sasuke of what is going on."
Elsewhere, Zoro and Hatchan were cruising along the coastline, one of them standing inside the barrel, while the octopus fish-man was paddling through the water, making small talk.
"So, what do ya think? Piracy is a full-time job and I definitely am loyal to my captain. But once I find that missing sauce for my takoyaki recipe, I'll open a restaurant somewhere and cook day until night! ~nyu." the fish-man proudly described.
"Hmm. It sounds like a decent plan. Not sure about going for fried octopus, though. You said yourself that you're an octopus fish-man, didn't you?" Zoro responded.
"Oh? There's no problem there from where I'm concerned, ~nyu. Humans and fishmen are of different species, but we actually have the same blood types. A few I heard of even become couples and can have kids together. If it comes to genetics, I'm closer to humans like you than any fish. It's no different than one of your kind cooking up those creatures called monkeys, another primate, to eat,"[3] Hatchan explained. Before crossed two arms under his chin, taking up a pondering air.
"At least, I think that's what it's like. I don't really know a lot about these kinds of things, ~nyu."
Zoro shrugged, "Well, I'm not someone to throw around accusations or call someone's thoughts right or wrong. If that's what you want to do, then I wish you good luck."
"Why thank you! You're a real stand-up guy, you know that? Now, it seems we still haven't run into your sister yet, even after crossing the coastline twice, nyu," Hatchan commented.
Zoro frowned, trying to come up with a fresh excuse.
'Staying here might bring more questions. And I'm two swords short for a fight. Sakura-san and Kakashi-san also mentioned not bringing problems down until the others get here.'
'This guy is a little of an air-head. Maybe I can trick him in the forest, then slip back to the coast and leave him to get lost.'
"You're right. She might have gone back to the village by now. Think we can move to the beach then walk back?" he suggested.
"No problem! Let's go there. You're pretty good company anyways, nyu," Hatchan agreed. Minutes later he was moving towards the beach. Once they were close enough, Zoro leapt for the sand while his guide stood up from the water.
"Follow me, I'll show you the way through."
"Okay," Zoro agreed. Letting Hatchi walk ahead while he stayed behind 'If he's out front, then I might have an easier time slipping away—'-"Oomph!"
"Huh? Something wrong up there?" Zoro had walked into Hatchan's back after one minute of walking through the tree line. The octopus was not moving and dropped his ferry-pot.
"RRR..RRrr-rrr—rrr-WH-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-what happened here to you?!" The octopus-man exclaimed. Zoro watched as he ran on ahead, into a clearing filled with wounded fishmen. The same ones Zoro had fought with a little over an hour before. Some were groaning in pain or had regained consciousness.
'Oh, boy,' the swordsman began to sweat. 'Better go now,' he turned to his right, while Hatchan was running ahead, looking over his crewmates.
"Men!? Wh-what..no! Who did this to you? How could this have happened to each of you? It's terrible!" he was kneeled by two of them, trying to ease their suffering.
"H…He..Hatchi. I…I'm sorry….this guy…he!" one began to moan.
"Stop talking, Gamakento. I'll help you all back to Arlong Park, then we'll find out who did this!" The Octopus fishman began piling his brothers over his shoulders. Hatchan was exceptionally strong even on Fishman standards. Carrying ten other fishman only took effort and was far from impossible. Two of them were able to stand with help and began walking together back to their base.
But, after only a handful of steps, Zoro dashed out from the bushing in front of him.
"Huh?! Mr. Swordsman?! I thought you were behind me."
Hatchan was surprised. And grew suspicious as Zoro's face showed a hint of panic at the sight of him carrying the other fishmen.
"You! What brought you back here, human filthy! You're the one who attacked us!" a Fishman on Hatchi's right.
"What!? Fusazane, are you sure it can be him? I was helping this guy look for his lost sister earlier," Hatchan looked around in confusion.
"Yeah, that's him. He cut all of us down, Hatchi. We were just walking around, and this damn human ran out from the bushed=s and attacked us!"
"Hey, I was just walking around when you started that fight, dumb-ass!" Zoro growled back. For a moment, his mouth hung agape, before whacking his own forward.
'Damn. That was just stupid.'
His confession caused the Six-armed officer to freeze, while Zoro's eyes began darting around, looking for spare weapons.
"NYUUUUU! YOU BASTARD! YOU TRICKED ME AFTER HURTING MY BROTHERS LIKE THAT EVEN AFTER THE HELP YOU GOT YESTERDAY!?" The Octopus-Fishman was shaking a fist at Zoro, steam with pouring from his ears.
"Fusazane! Run and find help for our brothers and get Arlong while you're at it! Ryuya! Take our brothers from my arms! If he beat all of you, then I'm the best one to take down this disgusting man, with my own six-sword-style!"
Quickly, the fishman complied with Hatchi's orders. Once his burden was gone, the Octopus reached for his back.
"Huh!?" his arms grasped for the pot he carried earlier.
"Uh-oh! I dropped my load!? It had my swords in it!" three pairs of hands grasped Hatchan's face. Quickly the octopus began spinning around, darting hither and thither, trying to find his giant gourd while shaking his head all the while.
"Uh? Of all the times?"—swish—"I was that distracted"--swish-"Need my swords to fight him!"-switch -"OH, oh, oh, oh, where did I leave them?!"
"Hey! You…looking for this thing?"
Zoro's voice called over. The swordsman, now wearing a green bandana, was now holding two spare swords in his hands, standing behind Hatchan, and pointing at the clay barrel to his side.
"Huh?" Hatchan questioned, his head cocked in confusion. "Where did you find that!? And why did you tell me where it was?!"
On his part, Zoro shrugged. "Well, I needed two spare swords, so while you stood there distracted, I snuck past and picked up these from the ground," gesturing across the pathway, littered with weapons from the earlier fight. "You said you were a swordsman, and scars on the back on a swordsman's shame." Zoro nudged the gourd towards Hatchan with his boot, then placed Wado Ichimonji in his jaws and held two borrowed swords in each hand. "If we're having a sword duel, take out your and try me."
Several fishmen blinked, once…twice…three times. Before Hatchan remembered why he was angry and drew six cutlasses from his pot.
"Grrrrr. Don't patronize me you human! First, you hurt my brothers, then you beguiled me into helping you, and now you have the gall to insult my skill by thinking yourself equal to my six-sword-style! Let's go!"
Hatchan's rage left his eyes plain white, while Zoro smirked. Drawing Wado Ichimonjo from its sheath and placing the hilt in his jaw.
"You asked for my name before. I am Roronoa Zoro. Let's see how my Santoryu can do against your Rukotoryu."[4]
He raised the pilfered Fishman swords, adapting the face of a wolf, hungry, cunning, lithe and focused.
Hatchan was a raging bull. Forceful, determined, and all too eager to lock horns.
"Takoashi Kiken!" Hatchan charged forward, his swords appearing to flail around him. Zoro knew better, his eyes noting how the Fishman remained upright and balanced with every step and traced the narrow spaces between each strike. A wild hurricane of slashes, chops and stabs moving in a rhythmic flow, incredibly wild yet intrinsic and efficient.
Zoro pivoted back, his blades deflected each strike, rather than becoming locked in place to block them. The force behind each strike was incredible, each blow made Zoro's joints rattle. Hatchan's strikes were honed by great dexterity, though his precision had room for improvement.
Zoro ducted beneath four for the blades, parried two low thrusts, and twisted his body, sending the blade of Wado Ichimonji to slip through the Octopus' guard. A cut tore through Hatchan's shirt, missing his body, while Zoro flowed with his rotation. Spinning some meters away from his opponent.
Hatchan ended his six-sword barrage, pivoting around before raising his swords. Each one pointed straight ahead, their tips meeting together, resembling a drill as he charged Zoro again.
"Nyu~Tentacle Sword: Overload!"
Meters from his target, each of the swords were drawn back, set at different angles. Zoro could barely follow them, left with only a second to choose evasion or defence.
The swordsman took a third one, counter. Crouching to push off the ground, the green-haired combatant struck outwards, angling each of his own blades to parry two of Hatchan's. The attack was thrown off, but Zoro's momentum carried further, manoeuvring himself around to Hatchan's right, and cutting through his body with the blade in his left hand.
Zoro twisted himself around, to recover his footing before looking back at his opponent, panting deeply.
'Damn…feels like…that attack…ripped by st-…stitches open. And this guy…he is no joke.'
Zoro pushed his mind away from the pain searing in his chest and rose to his full height.
'There's no mistaking it. He's definitely a swordsman, not some idiot flailing around.'
"Nyuu~~! Don't think that one cut means this is OVER." Hatchan had taken the same stance as before, barreling towards Zoro with all swords pointed forward.
"Rukotoryu: Octopus Pot Stance!"
Zoro dove aside, while Hatchan continued forward, drilling through multiple trees, until he hit a solid rock wall head-on.
Zoro blinked at the display, then sweat-dropped.
"Or…. I might have been wrong and this guy is just a big, pink, fool."
"Damn you!" Hatchan's voice called back towards him. "You are certainly a slippery enemy! I'll need to use all of my blades to cut off your angles to slide through, then cut you apart!"
Before he charged in again.
Zoro dashed forward to meet him. Both swordsmen decided to measure their foes before more committed attacks. Sparks were flying as they bore down on one another. The hulking fishman pressed into his dwarfed enemy, while Zoro was spinning about, following instinct and skill. The human was constantly moving to shift out of one strike or build momentum to parry another. Zoro worked to give his attacks, but the fishman's skill closed any openings before a blade could pierce them.
Soon, both combatants looked their blades together, four of Hatchan's pressing against those in Zoro's arms, while Wado Ichimonji was blocked by the remaining two inches from Hatchan's neck.
"Strength!"
"Huh! What was that!?" Hatchan demanded. "Speak up further, but no words from you can distract me!"
Zoro glared up at the Six-limbed swordsman.
"Strength. That's what this style capitalizes on. But I've sparred with a crewmate whose attacks were faster. Plus…your reasons. They are different from mine," the santoryu master declared.
"Hm. Don't think for a moment that you've measured my skills, swordsman! I'm fast enough, especially since each sword I carry weighs 300 kilograms![5] And I am fighting to avenge my crewmates you hurt beforehand! How can you say that reason is weak, foolish human?"
Hatchan pressed further into their blade-lock as he spoke. Zoro's muscles could barely hold against this stronger opponent.[6]
"That's…not what I meant," the Straw Hat swordsman groaned.
"My swords will always carry more weight than any you carry. Not in their mass, but in the burden I carry."
Zoro's posture softened, recalling words from his rival, and others that had spoken the day before.
'Kuina. 'One day, one of us will become the best swordsman across the world.' Sasuke, 'Zoro, you have to defeat him and fulfil your goal!' Luffy, 'The King of the Pirates wouldn't have anything less than the best on his crew!' and my own vow to him, 'Until the day comes that I can take his title! I…will never…never be defeated again! Is that ok, King of the Pirates!?'
'I failed back at the Baratie against Mihawk. And right here, this fishman is at least a part of the suffering that Nami has put up with for eight years now.'
"I…am Roronoa Zoro. Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Under Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the King of the Pirates," he declared, proudly.
"The burden of his trust, in the promise I swore years ago, and for the sake of my crew. That is what I carry in these swords."
Zoro lowered his body, prepared for a new attack, while Hatchan blinked at his speech.
"Huh? Zoro? I thought he was a green-haired swordsman who carried three swords. Your hair is dark as the night sky. Are you really him, or just spewing hot air?"
Zoro blinked. "No. I dyed it before coming to the village so it would be harder to recognize me."
Hatchan's eyes narrowed, before widening with shock.
"Hey! If you are him, then you're a bounty hunter, not a pirate! You must be trying to take Arlong's bounty! There's no way I can let you near my captain! Take this!
Instead of his swords, the Octopus fishman raised his head skywards.
'Good target!' Zoro thought, leaping forward to slice at his throat. But Hatchan attacked first.
"Hachi-ink jet!"
From his mouth, the octopus-fishman spewed a geyser of dark black ink. Zoro threw his head low, driving to the ground and avoiding the stream of ink, though his hair was given a fresh coat of black colour. Hatchan spun around, covering the entire forest with ink, before dousing himself.
Once he was dripping black, the Fishman began to tip-toe, carefully.
"Hahahahaha! One benefit a fishman has over a human is I can use this to escape or to hide anywhere I wish. Now you can never-GHUKKKKTH!"
"Santoryu: Oni Giri!" Zoro whispered. Dashing past Hatchan, leaving three fresh cuts in the fishman's torso. Hatchan clenched his teeth, fighting past the pain as stripes of red covered his ink-black body.
"Just because you covered yourself with ink, doesn't mean nobody can spot you. That monologue also gave you away to me immediately, idiot," the swordsman declared. As Hatchan spun around, fury now clear in his eyes.
"Damn you! I underestimated such a cunning enemy. No holding back now!" the fishman exclaimed, spinning his blades above his head.
"Rokutoryu Ogi: Six-Sword Waltz, Twister!" A fan appeared over Hatchan's head, cutting down any trees surrounding himself, and drawing small pebbles into the air stream. Zoro grimaced as he duct and wove around flying trunks, thrown around by the vortex from the Octopus' blades.
"Roronoa! This vortex will box you in, while I stay safe here in the eye of my twister attack. The only safe place around here is right where I'm standing and coming here will bring you right where my six swords can dice you apart!" Hatchan roared.
"Don't count on it!" Zoro threw back in reply. Dropping low to avoid another flying tree, then spinning in place. "Santoryu: Tatsumaki!"
Zoro strained to overpower his foe with his own twister, but Hatchan ramped up the rotation of his own blades. It overpowered the smaller tornado quickly, and Zoro was nearly pinned down by the pressure of this attack.
'Damn…I can't over-power this guy. And my wounds are slowly me down, slightly,' Zoro noted, as a slippery sensation trickled down his chest. 'Maybe fighting harder will….wait-'
The swordsman's mind turned back to his sparring matches with Kakashi.
'The Jonin was pivoting around the deck of the Merry. Evading every strike from Zoro as the younger man pressed harder into him. No matter how high Zoro increased his rhythm, the JOnin remained one step beyond him. It was deeply aggravating until a kunai deflected one sword, and Kakashi was inside his guard, resting his knife across Zoro's throat.'
'"You're a skilled swordsman, Zoro-san, no questioning that," the grey-haired man complimented. Met with a growl of humiliation from Zro, at the ease he was beaten with. "But, predictable," Kakahsi continued. "Overpowering someone by surpassing them with one attribute, whether, strength, speed, or reflex to press home your own techniques might not always meet success. If you want, try looking for different avenues to attack from, as opposed to only the most direct way."'
Looking his opponent over, Zoro weighed Kakashi's advice in his mind.
'Okay. Head-on won't work unless I avoid getting swept up. Going low might work, or…'
Hatchan grinned as his tornado sent another tree slamming towards Zoro. This time, the swordsman didn't evade it, struck head-on by its truck.
"There! You see! Now watch as my Awesome Six-Sword Style slices you into tiny sushimi!"
Yet, the human he was fighting disappeared from his sight. Hatchi started glancing around, unsure of what was happening.
"Hohhh!...Where'd that bastard go?!"
He combed the entire surroundings, while reflexes honed from thousands of hours kept his spinning blades moving, and the tornado surrounding him alive. He drew a single figure with his sword anchored into a tree closer to his target.
'Now!'
"Sentoryu: Falling Streaming Wolf Swords!" As Zoro pulled his blade free and pushed off downwards, Hatchan only had time to notice the shadow below him. Falling through the eye of the hurricane, Zoro shifted around the blades, slicing through arms and hands as he twisted around, to find a graceful landing for his savage attack.
"AAAHHHHH! OW, ow, my hands!" A clamour followed as Hatchan dropped his swords, his arms and hands littered with clean gashes.
"My mistake," Zoro admitted. Rising to his feet. "I was aiming for your head."
Hatchan was about to shout until he noticed the red stains through Zoro's bandages. The man's humiliation and fury were growing to an all-time high, stoked further by the disarmament Zoro had given to him.
While on the opposite side, Zoro's posture faltered. An angry blaze was searing through him, from the wound on his chest. 'It feels like…that cut from Hawkeyes…the last of my stitches…were lost in that attack.'
'No matter. I am not…allowed…..to fail," he stoically promised. Before his ears pricked at the sound of charging feet.
Raising his borrowed blade and the one in his mouth, Zoro met and countered those of his enemy. Only four swords struck out, while two were held back. Another exchange followed as Zoro threw his counters at Hatchi, using each sword equally. Sparks flew as the blades met one another, mixed with Zoro twisted away from thrusts the Hatchan used as pot-shots.
Blood flew over the clearing with each clash, Either from Hatchan's wounded arms or the few strikes that pierced through Zoro's guard and left shallow cuts across his chest and face. The Human pressed further, determined not to lose or back down from his enemy. While Hatchan was waiting for the right opening.
"Octopus Open-guard!" Two blades crossed over Wado Ichimonji, while the other two forced Zoro's hands upwards. "Head-butt!" A solid head-butt battered into Zoro's chest, sending him flying backwards, and tearing all of Mihawk's tokens clean open.
Zoro fell tumbling through the brush until he landed by the shoreline. Struggling to drive air into his lungs, he pushed up from the ground, forcing himself to rise to his knees. One foot came up before his body screamed in protest.
"You aren't getting away from me, Roronoa!" a voice came some meters away.
"Get up," Zoro cursed himself. "None of these…can keep me down. How can…I challenge Mihawk again…or call myself the Vice-Captain…to Luffy….if I fall here!"
Forcing himself higher, Zoro stood tall and ready as his opponents closed in.
"Rukotoryu: Pot Stance!"
"So, that move again, huh?" Zoro remarked as the points of Six Blades moved in towards him. Brace himself low, this time Zoro could read Hatchi's moves and rhythm, with another piece of Kakashi's advice in his ears.
'"I know that, Kakashi-san. And I know about studying someone throughout a fight as well. My techniques are my bedrock. Building my physical might on top of them has never failed me before."'
'Yet, the lazy ninja merely cocked his head. "Perhaps. But physical might can be circumvented. Try looking for more openings to exploit, or creating one by learning more and more as the fight goes on"'
Zoro had found the patterns in Hatchi's Rukotoryu, planning to use another head-butt comb and force Zoro into the water, where he could dominate the fight.
As he drew close, Zoro eyed the swords that were carried by Hatchi's most wounded arms. The moment before they struck, the Human twisted his body; moving Wado and his right blade across towards them. The weakened arms dropped their blades at the clash, while the other four were deflected.
Hatchan tried to stop, as Zoro's left sword came around, opening another wound across his enemy, from hip to shoulder. A mirror of the same cut Mihawk gave Zoro.
Hatchan gasped in agony, clutching his chest with two arms, while the other four held their swords up to guard himself. Zoro himself began to waver, his spirit fighting the temptation put forth by his body…to fall.
'My body…must endure…this pain…to face Hawkeye as an equal…I must be extraordinary!'
Both swordsmen were in a near-equal state. A clear winner was still not decided in their duel.
After some moments, Hatchan rose to his feet again, barreling towards the water, and diving in head-first. Zoro kept watching him curiously, still panting from his wounds and feeling a slight fever tug at his mind.
SPLOOOOOM! "Water Driven: Takoyaki Punch!" Hatchan shot forth out of the water, driving six arms forward for Zoro. Yet, the swordsman dropped into a backwards role, his eyes widening in shock, missing the assault by centimetres.
Another splash told him that Hatchan had returned to the water. Yet Zoro's face now carried a confident grin.
Dropping the blades, he sheathed Wado, before assuming a classic drawing stance. His form was completely at ease, mind blank and ready for the coming strike. The tension sent his adrenaline to full throttle, as odds with the patience demanded for this tactic to work.
"Nyu~ You'll never cut me down, Roronao!" Hatchan refused, shouting out to his enemy. Only for Zoro to cock an eyebrow.
Twenty-five seconds passed before Hatchan shot out again. "Water Driven: Takoyaki Pun—GKHAAA!"
"Ittoryu Iai: draw!" In a single move, it was over. Zoro's blade cut clean through his mark as the figure's body shot past him. Hatchan tumbled over the grass before a tree stopped him, his consciousness lost to oblivion.
Zoro cleaned his blade, before clicking it back to its sheath. They eyed the dark stains in the waters below. 'All the movement through the water. It caused the freak's wounds to open wider than before. That second try did him in and left a perfect target for me to strike down.'
The man took a calming breath, fighting to stay on his feet as the adrenaline of his fight began to drain away.
"Well, might as well stick around here and wait for the others to arrive."
End.
There was a lot to cover in this chapter. And I needed to constantly find some reorientation to focus on how different events or perspectives of the characters would shape-up. From Sasuke's opinions towards betrayal, to Sakura's ignorance of Jinchuriki and widespread suffering, and Hatchi's character.
I especially wanted to give Hatchi some credit, as many author's do going into much detail for his fight against Zoro, and he is truly one of the more complex characters in the series. Comic-relief aside, learning more about his life in the Sabahoady Archipelago and Fishman Island arcs really gave him a lot of depth.
Additionally, one topic that I got stuck on was Zoro's fighting-style; I needed to keep him within the confines of the East-Blue Arc, where his repertoire, strength, skill, mentality while fighting, and more were all drastically less than he currently is elsewhere in the series.
I hope all the readers enjoyed this chapter, and have some strong opinions over different scenes. Especially relating to Sakura and Sasuke with Nami, Zoro's early fight with Hatchi, and the impending losses to Nami.
Bonus= I sneaked a reference to Firefly into this chapter, one of the most amazing and endearing sci-fi. Shows ever made And challenge readers to find it!
[1]-One Piece, episode 41. Arlong proclaimed that Nami did try to kill him just before Luffy jumped back into the fight. I'm actually surprised this detail doesn't come up in other fanfics.
[2]-Zoro is still wearing the black hair-dye. Sakura took time to wash her's out.
[3]-Critical. A lot of people in different online chat-rooms call Hatchan a cannibal for being an octopus in the series and cooking takoyaki, or octopus-fritters. Personally, I've had the latter and they can be delicious, but coming back to One Piece. Humans and Fishmen do share the same blood-types, and as Charlotte Praline can reflect, they are genetically compatible with each other. This would make fish-men taxonomically closer to humans, rather than fish or octopuses. That's like calling Humans' cannibals for eating pigs, which physiologically have close parallels with human flesh and bone.
[4]-Rukotoryu= literally "six sword style."
[5]-Imperial equivalent=661.4 lbs
[6]-This is Zoro during the East-Blue Arc. He is a long, long, long way from the kind of strength he gained across the Alabasta Saga, Water Seven Saga and beyond. And fighting with a remarkable strong Fishman.