LW: This was a long one for me, bear with me, please.

Rubber King and Mirror Master: New World Chaos - Whale of a Tale, the kidnapping of Medusa II.

Ryugu Palace

"That's not possible! How could a human cut down a Fishman in the water, and not just any of us but Hody?" One of the fishmen shouts in shock as Hody drops from the wound Zoro inflicted upon him.

"Kill him! He may be strong but he's still human, he can't have much air left by now" Another orders angrily as Zoro swims for the surface.

"Take an energy steroid too, just to be safe" Another suggests, all those within range taking out and swallowing a small, red and black pill on his command. Almost instantly the fishmen bulked up and their eyes turned an ominous red, they proceeded to rush the drowning swordsman, who while unable to reach the surface due to their interference, was still managing to hold his own, the question was for how long, unfortunately.

It seemed the answer was, that even when dosed to the gills, the New Fishmen pirates, just weren't strong enough to beat Zoro, as with a burst of '36 Calibre Pheonix' the shockwaves bought Zoro enough time to reach the surface of the water and fill his lungs with air.

"Zoro, you're ok!" Ussop shouts, breathing a sigh of relief "What the hell happened down there?"

"Soon this chamber will fill with water, come over here quickly so we may flee together" Neptune commands as the roided up Fishmen began to grab his soldiers and yank them underwater to skewer 'Hm, there's something not quite right here, my men are highly skilled and Hody's thugs are making short work of them' the king thinks worryingly "Long nose, take this, it should enable you to at least retain some air, long enough to escape this place" the says as he throws a smaller bubble coral to the sniper "Now, hang onto me tightly, our escape will not be smooth sailing, that's for sure"

"I kind of guessed" Ussop admits with a sigh before complying, putting bubbles on the heads of the 3 Devil fruit users before all 4 of them clung to Neptune "Come on Zoro, just a little further!"

"I really hope my back doesn't give out when I need it most like last time" Neptune mutters to himself before diving, his remaining soldiers following suit before they reach the floor and see Hody's army between them and freedom "Look alive men, I shall clear a path for you. We shall retreat for now, and live to fight another day, to liberate the Palace from Hody and his thugs. Now…. Merman Combat!" he declares, before grabbing the water behind him like it was a solid object and heaving "Ultramarine!" he bellows as he unleashes a torrent of water that quite literally blasts the Fishmen out of his way "All Soldiers forward! Ride the current and retreat from the palace" Neptune orders, his voice strained but firm.

"Um, old guy, shouldn't we be following them?" Ussop asks.

"I wish I could, but old age makes wrecks of us all. My spirit is willing, but my body won't budge" Neptune wheezes as he floats to the bottom.

"Oh come on" the sniper whines, getting similar looks from the rest of the crew. Luckily, help was on the way, in the form of a large whale, its cries alerting Neptune to its prescience

"Hoai! Little ones we're safe, just need to grab his harness" Neptune grunts but succeeds and the whale pulls them into the current and on a fastrack to freedom "I owe you my life dear friend, just a little further…"

Unfortunately, things weren't meant to be, as while Neptune and the others were fleeing, Hody's men had fed him one of the Energy Steroids, reviving him and bulking him up to absurd levels, such as being able to halt the forward motion of a whale and giant merman with one hand. Seeing there was no point, Neptune released the tether, allowing Hoai to flee and join the members of his army that had been able to flee, though they all stopped when they saw Hody had him by the tailfins.

"I told you to go!" Neptune bellows, snapping some of them from their funk "This day is not lost if you manage to escape. Bring my sons to me so we may rout this infestation from our halls. Begone with you!"

"Boss, they're getting away, should we go after them?" One of the fishmen ask

"No, they're not worth the effort. Soldiers who can't do the one job they were stationed here for, protecting their king, are of no threat to us" Hody chuckles, his red eyes shining "Speaking of, tie up the king, in case he gets any bright ideas or recovers from his injuries while in our 'care' "

"Yes sir!"

"I'm sorry, I failed you all" Neptune apologizes to the Straw Hats "BUT so long as my allies live this battle isn't over!"

?

"Is he ok?" Chopper asks, as Kaos lies passed out on the head of Megalo, softly snoring.

"Probably, he pushed his Devil Fruit to the limit, and then the other sides of him, well they were different mentally, but it's all the same body so still running on his lowered stamina" Luffy explains with a shrug, though internally trying to get everything to fit together in his own head as much as everyone elses.

"I say we poke him with a stick until he wakes up" Valentina teases, which at least raises the mood amongst the crew, though Shirahoshi looked worried the blond would actually do that.

"I don't need to see the future to know such an action would get you kicked off the shark, potentially at the speed of sound" Sanji argues as he leans against Megalo's fin with Hachi "Whether it's by Kaos, Lily, Luffy, or the princess is the real question though"

"Lily?" Alvida repeats "Did we get a new crewmate and nobody tell us?"

"Please be quiet. Master is sleeping" everyone turns to see a small flower with a face, growing out of Kaos' chest "Howdie. I'm Lily Carnation, Kaos' new familiar. I should probably go away again, who knows how much this portal thing messes with him even now" the flower pouts before sinking into the ripples of silver, before it's once more pristine alabaster flesh.

"Bad News: I lied" Kaos grumbles as he rolls onto his side, Luffy grabbing his cloak to ensure he didn't roll off the shark

"So, while sleeping beauty is getting a well-deserved nap, you can actually tell us where we're going" Alvida asks, looking out into the water curiously.

"The Sea Forest, on Shirahoshi's request" Luffy answers "So…. over there somewhere!" he adds, pointing in the general direction of…. Right in front of them.

"I figured as much" Victor chuckles "Never been down here before, but I think I remember Liltotto mentioning how the Sea Forest was a beautiful place, if a little eerie in how quiet it can be sometimes"

"Nowhere we go is quiet, at least not after we arrive" Sanji scoffs "So at least we won't have to worry about that today"

"I think we're almost there. Well, if it is then you have good taste princess this place is so pretty!" Luffy cheers as Megalos reaches the Sea Forest, making decent time too.

"It is. I've dreamed of this moment for over a decade" Shirahoshi sniffles "You have no idea how much this means to me, how much of an impact you even humoring my request has. Thank you"

"No problem, a growing girl like you needs some fresh air" Luffy teases, then his eyes widen and a grin splits his face "Plus, we'd have come here anyway. THE SUNNY'S HERE!" he shouts joyfully, everyone looking down to see he was right, their ship was here in the sea forest, and looked none the worse for wear, somehow.

"Franky too, seems he finished his errands before we did" Valentina chuckles "Plus, it's fitting that he's the first one to reach Sunny, as he's the one who would make her sea-worthy again, we'd just get in the way" the ninja adds only half-jokingly as Megalo's swims into Franky's line of sight.

"Well lookie here, if it ain't the rest of the crew, well almost" the cyborg grins, then blinks and raises his shades off his face "We get a new crewmate, or Kaos snag himself a new girl, after the Pirate Empress nothing's too big for that slippery son of a gun?" Franky laughs, especially when Shirahoshi turns deep crimson and the water starts to bubble around them.

"This, is Shirahoshi, she asked us to bring her here, and we weren't doing anything else so we did" Luffy summarises once everyone had disembarked, Valentina actually coming closer to her joke than most expected as she kicked Kaos in the ribs to try to wake him up, and got slammed facefirst into the Sunny as a result, the researcher scowling as he pulls a thermos from his coat and downs it swiftly.

"You a taxi service now? How bored were you in that case" Franky asks with a wink

"So, it's just you here, the others are still out there somewhere?" Chopper asks in concern

"Robin, Artemis, Vivi, and Medusa came through a while back, maybe an hour or 2, but besides that, yeah it's just been me and Den" Franky nods, honestly liking the quiet, as rare as it is on the Sunny.

The conversations lulled when the click of sandals was heard on the approach, Luffy turned, seeing that figure to be Jinbe, and smiles widely

"Luffy, I'm glad to see you have arrived and are in good health" the whale shark fishman greets warmly "I can tell even just by looking at you that you've gotten stronger, you and that brother of yours" he adds, trying to see if Kaos would be joining the conversation, the researcher giving a smile and a nod as the soup/tea starts working on his splitting headache, as well as quiet the other voices in his head.

"When I heard you weren't allowed in town I thought finding you would be hard, lucky those mermen said you were looking for me too" Luffy grins

"So, you aren't here because you got my message, curious" Jinbe mutters

"Oh we did, Luffy's just forgot most of it" Kaos admits with a tired shrug.

"Hello Jinbe, it's been a long time" Shirahoshi waves meekly, wishing she could hide behind either Kaos or the Sunny right now.

"Indeed, it's lovely to see you growing into a beautifu….. WHAT! SHIRAHOSHI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF THE PALACE?"

"Franky, can you help Sanji get Hachi off this shark, he's kind of heavy, but mostly just unruly" Chopper calls from Megalo's back, the cyborg running over to catch and gently set down the injured octopus man.

"Hachi! What happened to you? Who hurt you?" Jinbe asks as he rushes over to his friend, concern oozing from every pore "Also, what are you doing here? I heard Arlong was killed and his crew captured, so I'd assumed you were as well".

"Mew, long story" Hachi wheezes "Tell you later, when my lungs don't feel like they're going to collapse"

"Thanks for that Franky, seriously I don't think Fishmen were made for lifting or carrying, too many extra parts throwing off the balance" Sanji sighs as he slides down the side of Megalos, catching Chopper as he jumps down to join them.

"Is everything alright over there, you're being extra noisy" Den asks as he drifts over to their side of the Sunny, only for his jaw to drop "What's Princess Shirahoshi doing here?!"

"Hey, get off our ship, it's not yours" Luffy shouts in response

"Relax Cap'n, Den's a shipwright, Tom's brother in fact. He's actually offered to recoat the Sunny for when we leave Fishman Island and actually head into the New World" Frank explains, trying to calm the grumpy rubber boy.

"Oh, why didn't you say so. Good luck to ya, we'll try not get in your way!" Luffy shouts up, now much happier with this strange merman on his ship if Franky was vouching for him.

"Shirahoshi, I mean no disrespect, I know why you'd want to come here, but given the situation…"

"Given I broke his hand, I highly doubt Vander will be throwing any more axes at the princess" Kaos interjects, already starting to look more like himself, smiling as Shirahoshi nods rapidly, attempting to confirm his statement to Jinbe.

'She's not scared, she's…. Happy even. Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Maybe, Newgate's son and Neptune's daughter are just what the other needs right now' Jinbe thinks, chuckling to himself for even thinking what he had.

Otohime's grave

"So, this is the grave you asked us to break you out of the palace to visit huh? It's at least a very pretty, and tasteful monument" Luffy hums, and gravesites were not exactly something he knew anything about, but he was trying to be nice to the princess.

"Well, it is her mother's grave. A monument to Queen Otohime, one of the best of our people, taken long before her time. Vander's obsessive pursuit of Shirahoshi began not long after the Queen's death, so it's understandable why she's never gotten the chance to pray at or even see the site until now" Jinbe explains "She's spent every day between then and now, locked away in the Hard Shell Tower for her protection against Vander Decken's madness. I'm sure somewhere in her mind or her heart, everything she's wanted to say to her mother have piled up greatly, and she's now at least trying to let it all out, and finally grieve properly"

"Luffy!"

"Luffy-chin!"

"Huh? Nami! Camie. Hey guys what are you doing here?" Luffy calls as he sees the mermaid and cat burglar both riding the bus to the Sea Forest.

"See, down there beside Luffy-chin, it's the Boss" Camie explains to Nami as they reach their stop "Jinbe. Oh and Shirahoshi's here….WHAT!"

"Yeah, we kind of smuggled her out, Kaos nearly exploded in the process" Luffy just barely explains while giggling "How was the banquet? Also, where are the others?" he asks curiously, then frowns as something is clearly missing on his end.

"Nami-swan! You are returned!" Sanji cheers, noddling in a way which at least tells everyone he's alright again, though there was more smoke emitting from him than there had been 2 years ago.

"Hachi!" Camie gasps as she swims over "Oh dear, you poor thing"

"Hody did this to him?" Jinbe repeats after being given the information from Valentina, the blond omitting that Hachi never verbally confirmed her suspicions, his reaction to her accusation was enough for her "So it's really come to this. To think they've even managed to infiltrate the palace and take it over, this is a dire situation the likes I've not seen in years"

"Everyone's ok right?" Luffy asks swiftly, twitching with nerves.

"I don't know for sure, they're probably ok, but it would probably be for the best if we hurry back" Nami suggests.

"My father, captured and in peril. How could they do such a thing to him?" Shirahoshi cries, rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks.

Jinbe sighs deeply "I failed you Luffy." seeing the look of confusion in the boy's face he continues "I left those messages to avoid an incident like this, but it seems it was always going to happen eventually. We shall make haste, but please humor me for just a moment, there is something I should have told Luffy about 2 years ago when we first met, though it means even more now. I owe a debt of gratitude to the people who finally put an end to Arlong's menace, he'd caused so much harm already. I understand it was you who defeated him, though the fatal blow was that of your brother's, so I express a long overdue thank you, to both of you" Jinbe says with a shallow bow "And though it pains me greatly, I must apologize as well…."

"Don't say it, let it die with Arlong" Hachi mutters, worried for his friends, both new and old.

"11 years ago Arlong was locked away by the Government, and even knowing what evils he was capable of… I freed him' Jinbe's confession was interrupted by a fist to the gut, winding him and causing him to release a squeak-like wheeze

"Kaos!" Luffy shouts

"Be thankful it's me and not Sanji, deep fried shark is difficult to recover from" the slit eyed 1st mate hisses, Jinbe getting the message, though it was clear he'd waited too long as the end of the sentence, had already been filled in by most of the crew in their heads.

"The Sun. Arlong had that same tattoo on his left pectoral. You were on the same crew, that's why you let him off" Nami summarises her own thoughts, the light leaving her eyes as the memories crash upon her like a tsunami.

Jinbe sighs deeply before nodding "Correct, Arlong and I were once both members of the Sun Pirates, which was where the tattoo came from."

"It's not exactly news, given Yosaku more or less said as much while we were on the way there, that you cut a deal with them to let out one of your guys, when you became Warlord" Sanji grunts, taking another drag from his smoke.

"You sure, I don't remember that part" Luffy hums, face twisted in confusion.

"As usual you tune out what's not immediately relevant" Victor sighs, getting weak chuckles from Nami and Kaos, though the overall mood of the area prevented it from getting further than that.

"Anyway" Sanji shouts, drawing attention back to himself "I'd been concerned since hearing Luffy had been in the paper with Jinbe, given as far as I could tell he'd been the real boss pulling Arlong's strings. So, I'm going to give you one chance to explain yourself, and justify what happened in the East Blue. Try not to fumble around too much, as Arlong's tyranny is a bit of a personal subject on this crew, given what he did to our navigator, ruined her life and turned every waking moment until Luffy and Kaos took him out into a living hell. So, with that all out in the open, you'll understand why, if it's unsatisfactory, I won't be forgiving you" the cook scowls, Jinbe on the other hand, his eyes widen and gain a far-off look as his gaze passes over Nami, her expression still void.

"Damn it Jinbe, you shouldn't have said anything" Hachi groans deeply as he sits up, despite Camie and Chopper's protests "Nami barely forgave me, and I'd never done a damn thing to her besides being part of Arlong's gang, I even tried to be nice to her when I could, never looked down on or belittled her for being a kid or a human. I know I'm not a good person but I tried damn it, she, she was just a little kid!" the octopus sniffles and coughs, his aching chest adding physical to his emotional pain "It's my fault anyway if I'd never found the map…" he trails off, eyes tearing up.

"Wouldn't have mattered Hachi, Sanji would have said something eventually, and then Jinbe hiding that connection would have just made things worse" Valentina argues, and while he doesn't want to admit it, the blond had a point.

"I'm sorry Miss Nami, you've had a truly horrific experience" Jinbe begins, Val and Kaos jumping Sanji before he can interrupt and ruin the moment.

"I did" Nami agrees in a flat monotone "It was a nightmare. Seeing my mother die in front of me, then spending almost a decade having to work under her murderer, treated by shit, and forced to lie and steal in the hopes of saving my home and buying back my freedom. I've never been happier than the day Luffy destroyed Arlong Park, and Kaos ramming a blade through his smug fucking face was icing, and I will never not HATE that bastard. However, it wasn't until I got to Sabaody when I learned that even the strongest of Fishmen were persecuted by humans, despite the great strength I'd seen growing up and boasted about by Arlong himself" she continues, a little life returning to her voice, her eyes even flicking over to Hachi before returning to match Jinbe's stare "When Camie was kidnapped and we all rushed to rescue her, I couldn't believe what I saw, Sabaody Park, an almost mirror image of Arlong Park before Luffy destroyed it…. And a part of me began to understand"

"We just wanted a place of our own" Hachi piped in "I'm not saying that to earn sympathy or make you forgive us, but it's true, and I need to say it while I have the chance. Oh Nami, you know it as well as I do, Arlong REALLY hated humans, too much for someone who walked the same streets. Yes, we went too far, hurt so many people, but as far back as I can remember, we yearned for the world the humans lived in, above the sea. Arlong, me, all of us. Our jealousy, it drove us to hurt people, innocent people like you and your village.." he begins to hack and cough, at which point Camie, Chopper, and Victor forced him to lie back down before the doc began making more healing salve "I heard, my people we seen as little more than fish, way back when. 200 years ago, the Ryugu Kingdom became a member nation of the World Government. They established friendly relations with humans, and their King was even allowed to participate in the World Summit, the Reverie. But despite all that, humans still had so much hate in their hearts"

"The start of the Great Pirate Era was probably the worst time in my life, it was hard to be a Fishman. I remember those fears, human pirates running wild on the island, anywhere you went seemed dangerous, so much violence, I'll never forget" Den explains to Franky, adding his own side to the story "Our only safe haven was taken over by humans"

"Then came that faithful day" Jinbe takes over "Whitebeard arrived on the island and saved us, brought order to the chaos, and in claiming the region as his territory, made Fishman island a place you could live in again. However, humans continue to be prejudiced towards Fishmen, you saw it at the Archipelago. That's the cruel reality. Those who attain power, are the most resistent to change, particularly changes that could lead to them losing even a sliver of that power. Even though the government theoretically bridged the gaps between merfolk and humans, the worst bigots and prejudiced bastards, were the ones running the show from the start, who should be leading by example, and I suppose ARE, given the hatred still burns in the hearts of humans"

"I mean there are about 20 villages in the East Blue who have a reason besides prejudice to hate Fishmen, but I see your point" Kaos mutters, and was ignored.

"Thankfully 2 individuals rose up on Fishman Island, individuals who would change the course of our history. Those individuals were Queen Otohime and Fisher Tiger! Otohime believed we could live in harmony with humans, and I see her light still exists within her daughter Shirahoshi. Then there was Fisher Tiger, who freed countless slaves…"

"Hey Kaos, didn't we already get told about the Tiger man, this story seems familiar" Luffy hums

"Yes we did, Hancock mentioned him while explaining her life and why she was a stone-cold bitch when we first met her" Kaos replies

"Right, he saved them or something, then Reyleigh, Shakky, and the old lady helped get them back to Amazon Lily" Luffy nods, remembering the story, during which everyone stares in shock at the revelation before Jinbe reboots his brain enough to continue his own story.

"Fisher Tiger broke an unspoken law, entering the Holy Land of Mariejois by himself, and freeing all the slaves he found, human or fishman all were let loose. He later went on to found the Sun Pirates, many of his crew being fishmen who were former slaves of the World Nobles. Unfortunately, our actions were simply seen as Fishmen piracy, making things much harder for Otohime to broker peace, much to my shame, our existence was a barrier to her efforts." Jinbe explains "Luffy, I'm going to tell you a tale from our history, one which regretfully paved the way for Arlong's ramage in the East Blue, albeit several years beyond it. I hope this can at least help bring us to an understanding"

"We're listening, not everyone cares, but we'll listen for now" Nami says, speaking for the group as it was her whose life had been affected by Arlong after all. Everyone found a spot to sit as they awaited Jinbe's story, even Shirahoshi looked curious about what the former Warlord had to say about Fisher Tiger and her mother.

While not how they expected this story to begin, it did at least ease some of the tension in the air by Jinbe starting with a retelling of Otohime interrupting a robbery and hostage situation, by bitchslapping the robber, as well as impressing some of the pirates by her level of Observation haki, dodging bullets with her eyes closed. Breaking her hand from a single slap though, was kind of sad. (Midoriya levels of self-inflicted bone breakages there) On the other hand, she was clearly a woman with a big heart, and much like her daughter even bigger tear ducts, given the first story ended with both her and the robber crying about their problems, before once more slapping the shit out of him for inflicting his pain onto others

"Nobody in the kingdom was more dedicated or passionate than Otohime, and that day was no different, as she was trying to convince the people that they should move from the bottom of the sea, up to the surface to be part of the human world" Jinbe continues to narrate

"Which clearly didn't work, given you're all still 10,000m below sea level, in a bubble, under the Lightroots" Sanji hums, before remembering Jinbe did say both stories end in tragedy.

"She intended to bring the proposition to the World Government at the next Reverie, but as you might expect, there wasn't a lot of merfolk or fishfolk who actually wanted to live near humans, given their experiences with the species being pirates, slavers and the cruel nobles who buy and abuse them. Her unwavering optimism though was a core aspect of her personality, that much all knew about her" Jinbe continues, with a slight smile

"She's certainly, unique, that's for sure" Nami hums

"Sounds like quite an emotional whirlwind, going from crying like a tap to slapping people for the slightest thing" Chopper notes clinically

"Hoshi, no offense, but your mom, while a nice lady, was nuts" Luffy comments, getting a smack to the head from Nami and Kaos, mostly because he set Shirahoshi off on another crying episode, which took 10 minutes to get her to stop.

"Wait, you went from a soldier in Neptune's army, to a pirate?" Sanji asks

"When you grow up in the Fishman district and live knowing nothing but fighting, there's not a lot of options in your future" Jinbe argues

"Kisame said the same, it's how he got recruited by Nagato, Mr. Shark's water manipulation and fighting prowess impressed him" Valentina agrees "Gengetsu at least can work as a smith in peace, all legal and shit, and those weapons of his, coupled with his liquidation techniques means people don't give him shit for anything these days"

"It sounds pretty bad, was that how things were for you too Hachi?" Chopper asks, getting a silent grimace from the octopus.

"It was" Jinbe answers for him "It started as an orphanage, but clearly devolved as it's people grew out of control, into a lawless shantytown that few dare to enter. Back then, Fisher Tiger was the closest we had to a leader, but he'd gone off on his own adventures and I don't blame him as it was always barely contained chaos. I'd been his 2nd in command while he was running the District but went to join Neptune's army when he headed out on his travels. Despite being fishmen themselves, some even helped the kidnappers, as for the others….. They all left eventually for their own pursuits and desires, until one day. The Day Tiger returned, and not long after, he made his move, the incident that made him infamous, climbing the Red Line singlehandedly, entering the Holy City, and releasing every slave they had up there. For doing so, he became a hero forever in the eyes of our people, but also a criminal in the eyes of the World Government. Before long, every ruffian in the Fishman district had assembled to fight by Tiger's side. All who accepted the Sun mark that day became sworn brothers, the brand was a symbol that washed away the slave brand, and showed we all stood together as one free people. And that, was how a bunch of lowlives from the Fishman District, became the Feared Sun Pirates!" he finishes, pride leaking into his voice as he regaled them Tiger's story.

Jinbe then went on to explain how things worked with the Sun pirates, Tiger's views and methods, fighting back, but trying to avoid his men becoming the monsters the humans saw them as, some like Arlong understandably making that aspect difficult. Alongside Otohimi's attempts to lead her people into harmony with humans, something even he admits their actions made increasingly difficult, not that the people down here needed much help to be equally prejudiced. Then came…. The incident.

"We'd been tasked with delivering one of the escaped slaves, a girl of about 11 years old to her family. Poor thing, she'd been broken by her captivity, her face forced into a smile and willing herself to work and never show her pain or anguish. I think Koala finally made some of the more zealous of our crew realize that not everyone human is like the celestial Dragons, some are treated just as badly as we were. Tiger overrode her mark with the Sun Brand, and declared that there would be no more killing on our part, then cleaned her up as we made our way back to the island we were told she came from. It took a couple of years, and the little thing somehow wormed her way into all our hearts, everyone but Arlong's of course, probably because she'd been through a lot of the same stuff as we had, but we eventually made our way to Foolshout island, her home. Fisher Tiger personally escorted little Koala to her home, but as we were getting ready to leave, we were ambushed by the marines. We were able to rescue Tiger but he'd taken a lot of damage in the ambush during the time it took us to get there and save him, but, after getting him to a ship Arlong commandeered as the marines had sunk ours…. Tiger had lost a lot of blood, and none of the crew were compatible, but when we tried to give him a transfusion, he refused. The betrayal had left a wound too fresh for him to allow even the blood of a human to mix with his, even to save his own life. Before he died he made us swear we'd let the hatred die with our generation, he believed Otohime was right, but that it wouldn't be until at least the coming generation that peace would be possible, there was too much baggage, too much hate between our species for it to work out just yet" Jinbe concludes, his eyes misting over with tears "That is how the hero of Fishman Island died, not in victory, but in tragedy. And all that suffering, over a Nephilim" the Fishman sighs, a few of the Straw hats tense though Kaos was the one who choked.

"Hm, what's that?" Luffy asks in confusion.

"They're a subspecies of Giant, at least according to the legends and only beaten by the Lunarians in terms of rarity given they're almost rather than actually extinct" Victor answers "Ywach has been searching for them, as he believes only someone with their consitution could handle 'The Miracle' a scrift he made for a giant warrior previously in his service, and one that has killed every other person he's gifted it to" the bomberman adds, the rest of the group interested by the explanation, but confused when Jinbe scoffs.

"If that's true then they must have one hell of a growth spurt come puberty given the kid was the same size as any ordinary human her age" Jinbe elaborates.

"It's probably good news for Arlong and bad news for Nami that the Nephilim rumor was bullshit then, as they're known for ungodly levels of strength and stamina as well as a firey temper, meaning she could have crushed your buddy's skull like a melon if he actually ever did try to kill her" Valentina chuckles darkly, having known about the Nephilim from her brother's experiments, as well as correspondences he had with another scientist involving gigantification experiments, of which he'd suggested them as a basis.

"So Tiger dies and Arlong lives, further proof we can't have nice things. Now we should probably let Jinbe continue his stories before Hody and his goons actually kill everyone in the palace" Kaos states, trying to get the ball rolling again after this tangent.

"Thank you. As I was about to say, Tiger's death was a critical blow to the Sun Pirates, the beginning of the end so to speak as without his leadership we began to splinter apart, as disparate personalities could no longer mesh, most notably myself and Arlong, or at least what we stood for: I and those who wanted to follow Tiger's final decree and give the humans a chance to show their kindness as Otohime believed, and those like Arlong who wanted to wipe them all off the map" Jinbe continues, before telling them about the incident that got Arlong arrested in the first place, and despite the circumstances, Nami and Kaos' eyes met and a flicker of a smirk crosses both their faces at how easily and casually Borsolino handed him his ass. Less amusing was how Arlong was the source of the 'humans refused to give blood to Tiger and so he died' rumor that led to Fishman Island doing the inverse.

"From that day forward I bore the title '1st Son of the Sea' and tried to honor Tiger's legacy as captain of the Sun pirates, though in truth, all we seemed to be doing was fighting everyone we came across. Meanwhile, Otohime did all she could to try and reach the harmony she envisioned, no matter the disinterest of her people. She was even known to rescue humans who were shipwrecked, as well as educate the children on the world above. Unfortunately the rest of the public weren't quite so understanding"

"I suppose it's in her personality to NOT make it a royal decree, as in your Queen tells you to sign this, so do it?" Nami asks, feeling bad for Otohime, but also seeing that the people down here were equally a bunch of assholes as the ones on the surface, which probably isn't what Jinbe was trying to indoc….. Explain to them.

"You are correct, that kind of coercion and heavyhandedness wouldn't have sat well with her, nor would it have done any good besides make things worse as the citizens would see it as being forced to get along with humans" Jinbe agrees, as do the rest of the crew, before he continues his tale "Though I suppose her drunken ramblings were the closest any version of her could get to your suggestion, as I don't think any of them realized just how important those signatures and giving the next generation the opportunity and the chance to mingle with humans was to her, that she'd actually break down and scream at them on the Den Den Mushi system over it. It was around that time, that I was offered a position as one of the Warlords, and I took it, for the good of the crew, particularly those who were former slaves, this was a way to protect them from the Government, as well as allow those who were only on the crew because of that fact, to leave and reunite with their families, given I'd be able to get the ship coated and return to Fishman Island unbothered. It also would help Otohime's plans for the future, as a Fishman as one of the 7 Warlords would help to improve relations between my people and the Government."

"This is when Arlong got released from prison, and fucked off to the East Blue isn't?" Alvida asks, as the timeline seemed to line up in her head.

Jinbe nods "Correct. Knowing what I do now, I should have just killed him when he planned to leave with his former crew, for spitting on Tiger's final wish. But I couldn't, he was a crewmate, a brother under Tiger. I beat him within an inch of his life, but I spared him and sent him away, never to darken my deck again. In a way you did me a favour Serpens, I promised Arlong I'd kill him if we ever crossed paths from that day forward, but I don't know if I could have gone through with it. On that day the Sun Pirates split in 3, Arlong, Macro, and myself as the captains"

"Didn't we run into a Marco when we met Camie?" Luffy mutters aloud.

"Yep, they were the ones trying to kidnap and sell her off to Duval and his slaver friends" Sanji nods, lighting a fresh smoke "Dumb as a rock that one"

"It pains me to know that, with the only consolation being that Macro and his friends are too stupid to actually succeed in their endeavors" Jinbe groans deeply before moving on to one of the more surprising parts of his tale: A Celestial Dragon becoming shipwrecked on Fishman Island, the only part Shirahoshi had actually been aware of, even if only vaguely. How despite his typical behavior, Otohime was still kind to him, even protecting him from what would have probably been a justified execution by the local populace (The straw hats were fairly sure they'd have just walked off if Saint Charlos had crashed on the island), as well as the summoning of a hoard of Seakings which prevented her from being killed by the adormentioned Noble. He went on to tell them of how when he'd been patched up, Otohime left for the surface with Mjosgard, in order to at least try to understand him, rather than blindly hate him for being a Celestial Dragon, though the fact he's an arrogant jackass who saw them all as inferior creatures, was probably reason enough to hate him.

Things got better with her return, the World Nobles even putting their weight behind her petition, setting off alarm bells in the pirate's heads, especially given Jinbe said both of the stories he was telling them ended tragically.

"Otohime's return brought hope to the island, and they returned it to her, by signing every last page she had. It actually looked like things were finally going to go how she wanted. Until it all went wrong, the signatures firebombed and Otohime herself, assassinated by a human pirate, everything collapsed at that moment" Jinbe concludes, though his head shoots up when he hears Valentina's scoff

"Mighty convenient that, just as things are about to get better, and peace was on the horizon, a human just happens to get past security and kill the queen. You don't question things that fit your internal narrative, but fishmen and humans are alike in so many ways" the blond argues "Someone didn't like the new road Otohime was paving, not like Arlong is an exception to the rules down here, a Fishman killed your queen and got away with it, all because you hate humans just as much as humans fear you"

"Lay off him, it doesn't really matter who killed her 10 years on, Otohime WAS the movement, without her it was dead in the water, so to speak" Victor sighs, though at least trying to calm his partner who just looked pissed off.

"While blunter than I'd like, Otohime thought the same, she didn't care who did it, just that it didn't cause hate to grow in the hearts of her children or her people" Jinbe begrudgingly agrees "The fact Vander's attacks began not long after this was just a compounded issue, only good thing was that it was mysteriously flying love letters rather than battleaxes at this point in the endeavor. For the next decade, the royal family, even the King himself rarely left the palace, but still spoke to their subject via the monitors, the exception of course being Shirahoshi here who I'm sure at least some of you…" he glares at Kaos and Luffy for all the good it would do "...know has been in the Hard Shell Tower to protect her from Vander Decken's attacks, and all the while the islander's signatures began to replenish, slowly, but surely" Jinbe sighs deeply, a weight off his chest "And there you have it, how we spent the last 18 years fighting discrimination, how the Fishman Pirates were formed, and divided. There's no denying the awful things Arlong did to your home as well as many other islands and villages along the East Blue, and I would never try to, but still, at one time he was like a brother to me. When we got word of his violent actions, we took it upon ourselves to deal with him, but he never seemed to actually suffer any true consequences. He hid most of his horrid deeds through intimidation and bribery of any soldiers who learned of his actions. I let him live, and in doing so, his sins are also mine to bear" Jinbe states before bending the knee and bowing to the point his face just barely avoided the coral floor "And that is why, though it pains me, this, is all my fault"

"Well, I'm not convinced. You want to earn forgiveness, words mean nothing action is all that matters. Kill yourself, and wash away Arlong's sins with your life!" Sanji declares, eye aflame as he waves his cigarette in the Fishman's direction.

"Sanji, enough!" Nami says, her tone blunt, but her voice even "While I will never forgive and forever hate Arlong for what he did, Jinbe never meant for anyone to get hurt, his only real crime was being unable to kill someone he saw as family, now matter how much of a vile person he was inside"

"I will accept any punishment of your choosing in order to repent for the pain my inaction caused you, Nami" Jinbe declares, still bowed over, awaiting her verdict.

"Then drop it, and forgive yourself" Nami answers, shocking everyone, Jinbe most of all "I'm relieved to know you're neither the mastermind, nor do you prescribe to Arlong's views. Plus you're a friend of Luffy's and that character test hasn't bitten us in the ass just yet, so I think I can believe you're a good person inside. Arlong made my childhood hell, but it was because of that, that I crossed paths with my new family, and found a place in this world. That pain shaped me, made me who I am today, I don't know who I'd be if things had gone another way, and I don't particularly care. I don't hate you for being a Fishman, so you, don't get to pity me for my past being marred by Fishman brutality. I've accepted my past, because I'm happy in the present" she smiled finally, and Jinbe's heart clenched, seeing Otohime and Tiger's dreams reflected in that smile, and he began to cry.

"I don't deserve your kindness!" he wails "You have, my gratitude"

"Oh Nami" Hachi whimpers, glad to see what they did, didn't break her, in fact, it made her stronger and just right for her crew/family of lunatics.

"Enough mopping around, I'm sorry I wasted your time"

"No biggie" Luffy shrugs, though he did look a little bored and stir-crazy.

"At least he stayed awake for this story, usually he completely ignores them" Chopper hums half-jokingly, then his eyes widen as he notices movement coming from the Sea Forest "Robin!" Everyone turns at his scream, happy to see the foursome return…. Only to realize, they were one short.

"Robin!" Kaos calls, flickering over to her in a blur of Sonido, the woman collapsing against him in tears as their bodies touched

"Vivi!" Luffy and Alvida shout, rushing over to their crying wife "What happened?"

"They took her" Robin whispers "They took my baby. I want their heads!" she cries, her eyes red from tears, but burning with hellfire.

"What happened?" Nami asks, trying to keep things calm enough to at least get answers before some of the crew start a killing spree

"The Fishman pirates happened" Artemis scowls "The long-necked bastard from earlier, he and some goons attacked us. They took Medusa, said she'd make good stock, and that the rest of us weren't worth keeping with how easily we went down" she states, fingers twitching erratically "They had powers, not like Devil fruits, but something else. A Sea-Urchin-looking guy had these crystals growing out of his body, and he could throw lightning like he was fishy Eneru, another, squid or octopus guy, he was able to slam Mom against the Ponyglph without even touching her"

"So the Fishmen also have magical powers? Shit, and they must be pretty powerful to knock you on your ass like that" Franky notes with a wince.

"Not magic" Kaos denies "Artemis' magical core is too dense for brute force attacks like this to do damage as easily as it seemed. These aren't Fishman mages, they're Fishmen, on Genesis" he clarified, most looking confused, except Jinbe whose jaw clenches.

"How do you know about that?" He growls.

"Simple really, I busted up a smuggling and trafficking operation, the guy there admitted to working with Fishmen to obtain them, and that Hody wouldn't be happy about this. Ergo, Hody has Genesis slugs, and while not the sharpest tool in the shed, he was most likely able to make, crude and brutish tonics and plasmids" Kaos explains.

"I'm sorry" Vivi whimpers "I couldn't save them, I tried, but their attacks, Water Bombs coupled with their enhanced strength…. I couldn't do anything"

"That's not your fault Vivi" Luffy assures her, the bluenette freezes when she feels a tail brush against her leg, before it moves to pat her head.

"Luffy's right, you did all you could, this isn't your fault" Kaos hisses as he lifts and holds Robin close "Jinbe. I know you're telling us not to cause an incident, but I've officially stopped giving a shit. Hody and his men took my daughter, the bastard dies no matter the consequences" he growls, staring over at Jinbe with metallic purple eyes, then it hits them, like the weight of the ocean pressing down on them, besides the ones closest to him, and surprisingly Shirahoshi, the pressure only dropping as Robin presses her face into the crook of his neck.

"Given who his Dad is, was there ever any other outcome?" Valentina chuckles, though the spinning tomoe in her eyes betrayed her anger "Helps that I don't think Luffy was going to listen to you in the first place. He sees an asshole he's gonna punch him, doesn't matter if the guy's a Fishman or even a world noble, he's the embodiment of 'Fuck around and find out' Kyahahaha!"

"Val's right. We're pirates, they're already going to hate us, I'm not going to sit around and let them hurt my family just because it would look bad if I punched a Fishman" Luffy agrees "Jinbe, I honestly don't care one bit about your internal, political crap, the only reason I cared about Alabasta's was that Vivi asked us to help. I'm sorry if knocking Hody into next month sets back Fishman/Human relations, he's getting what's coming to him, most likely my fist if Kaos doesn't get there first."

Jinbe groans tiredly, today was just getting worse and worse "In that case, we really do need to figure out what's going on and how to deal with it. We don't even know where Hody is, how many he has under his command, and how many of them are hyped up on those Genesis Plasmids you mentioned. All we DO know is he's taken the King and his guards captive, overrun the palace, and may or may not have captured around what 5, members of your crew and a toddler, correct?"

"That about sums it up" Nami nods, then grimaces as that really is very little

"Jinbe" Hachi pipes up "If things are going as Hody's planned, then not just the palace, but the rest of the kingdom will soon be under his control" he adds, as much as he hates to be the bearer of bad news.

Jinbe blinks "Wait, you know his plans? I've only had a nagging suspicion about him since he retired from Neptune's army" the former Warlord admits.

"Not me, I had the in, right until this morning when I couldn't stomach being around him any longer. Hody hates humans, even more, than Arlong ever did, almost making him look like Jinbe, or at least just an average citizen. All he's running on is resentment and drugs. Talks a big game about expanding and forming a new great kingdom, but all that really matters to him is causing pain and suffering to humans. If you want to see how different the 2 are, I think 4 of you were at Arlong Park to see this, but while he has no problem killing humans, and even enjoyed it sometimes, one thing Arlong would never do is hurt another Fishman, we're all brothers in his eyes."

"Oh yeah, he got even madder when I ducked behind one of the fishmen and he clap-chomped the guys's face" Luffy nods "Yeah, he may have been a bastard, but he at least knew how to be a good pirate Captain"

Nami nods "Yeah, the one positive I can give Arlong, he did love his crew, they really were his brothers"

"Exactly. Arlong would never sink this low, even to hurt humans. Hody though has no such restraint, he'll turn his fury upon any human sympathizers or human lovers just as much as the genuine article. He'll cut down anyone in his way. The Reverie is this year, but this year is different from all the others, they finally obtained enough signatures for King Neptune to attend and speak amongst the others at the summit about relocating Fishman Island to the surface"

"Oh, no wonder Hody's got his panties in a twist, Otohime's dream is actually almost become a reality" Valentina coos with a mirthless smirk.

"Hachi's right, it's only a few months away. I doubt Hody wants to actually attend the summit though, he'd be struck down in seconds by the Admirals, not to mention Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, Cheif Commander Kong, and the actual guards on Mariejois itself" Vivi mutters, trying to figure out the plan, providing Hody wasn't dumb enough to think he could actually just walk in and kill every human he sees.

"Hey guys, there's a visual Den Den Mushi heading our way, 3 guesses it's Hody or Vander" Kaos sighs as the snail scuttles into view.

"That was 2" Alvida jokes, trying to ease some tension, so they were all thinking clearly.

"3rd is it's Neptune declaring the invasion routed and all is well with the world. So a 0.0001% chance of that one" Victor supplies, as all turn to see what the Snail had to show them.

"That's him, that's Hody Jones" Nami scowls as the smug prick appears, projected onto the Sea Forest's bubble

"Hello, people of Fishman Island. Am I coming through? Well, for those of you not in the know, I'm the captain of the NEW Fishman pirates. My name, is Hody Jones!"

"Found him. Now we go kick his ass" Luffy shouts, getting agreement from the entire crew.

TBC

LW: And we're done! So many flashbacks to sift through. Action will hopefully occur next chapter, fingers crossed I suppose.