"Faster! Go faster!" Luffy shouted as he urged the sea cow to go faster. "Nami, hang on!"
In the woods of the island, Arlong's crew struggled to pull him, to take him back to the compound.
"Find him! I want that long nosed freak, NOW! And find that girl as well!" Arlong shouted. "To think some lowly human scum would defy us, the fishmen! Come on, we're going back to Arlong Park."
Usopp and Aya ran deeper into the woods, but several fishmen were right on there heels, chasing them. They were definitely determined to catch them!
"I can't shake these guys!" Usopp shouted.
"Let's fight them!" Aya suggested.
"Are you insane?! We can't take all of those fishmen at once!" Usopp shouted. "But, I think I have plan that, hopefully, will work, follow me!" Usopp lead her deeper into the forest. The fishmen followed, chasing after them, then stopped in their tracks. The two were no where to be seen. The pirate crew began to search around, looking for them.
"Hey, where'd they go?" one of the fishmen asked.
"All of those in favor of leaving Usopp alone say aye!" Usopp shouted. "Aye!" he said repeatedly, jumping from one place to another randomly in the distance not too far off from the fishmen.
"You fool, you're dumber than I thought." the fishmen smirked. He walked closer towards Usopp and lunged at him. But, it was a dummy that looked like Usopp instead.
"Oh, you agree with me too! That's great!" Usopp smirked.
"Lead star special attack!" He launched a pellet and it exploded as it made contact with the three fishmen. It released a liquid, blinding them. "I guess fishmen aren't all that cracked up to be. Not one of those scary morons can catch up to Captain Usopp!" Usopp laughed.
"Not bad," Aya commented him, smiling. Usopp blushed and smiled back and the two ran past the pirates.
As Usopp and Aya slipped past the fishmen who were still blinded, they came across a field with tall grass and walked through it. Usopp nearly stumbled and fell. He felt his heart nearly leaping from his chest as he caught onto the tree next to him. "Whoa! That's weird We're back at the shore?" It was a cliff and a long way down to the bottom that reached to the shore.
"I think I heard him over here!" the two heard a fishmen shouted. Usopp squeaked, while Aya gritted her teeth, hearing them heading towards them. As the group of pirates got closer, Usopp and Aya were no where to be seen. "Huh, no one's here?" Usopp was hiding behind a very thin tree, while Aya hid among the tall grass, staying still, as the group got closer. Usopp began to sweat nervously, hearing their footsteps.
"Must have been hearing things. That guy sure can run." one of the fishmen commented.
"Alright men, let's move on." another one said and they left. Usopp sighed in relief, while Aya popped out from the tall grass.
"That was a close one! They almost find us!" she smiled. Usopp was about to say something to her, but the ground beneath his feet gave away. He fell over the edge, screaming and tumbling all the way down.
"Usopp!" Aya shouted and run over to the cliff side. "Are you okay?! That was a long way down!"
"Y-Yeah..." Usopp replied back up to her painfully. However, across from the two on the other side of the sea, there was a fishman who was interrogating a villager as he held him by his neck.
"I don't know!" the villager cried out fearfully.
"Well, for your sake you better not be lying to me." the fishman narrowed his eyes at him. He turned his head over to where Usopp was as he heard him, tumbling down the cliff side then jumped into the water. Usopp looked up to see the villager shouting at him. He smiled and waved back.
"Huh? What?" Usopp called out. "Yeah, I'm fine! Thanks for asking! I made it down safe and sound as you can see!"
Usopp froze and went completely pale as he saw the fishman rose out from the water, towering over him. "Really? Well, I can't tell you how pleased that I am that your safe."
"Y-Yeah..." he replied, grimly. He looked up above the cliff side to see that Aya had disappeared. At least she made it safely...that's all that matters.
Back at the Park, Zoro yawned, growing tired of waiting, completely bored out of his mind, as he laid back in Arlong's chair.
"What's taking so long? Luffy, where are you? Five more minutes of this and I'll keel over from boredom." Zoro sighed. Then he heard someone talking out loud, near by the gates of the compound.
"Incredible! What are you, some kind of super fish?" the voice said. Zoro walked over to get a closer look and climbed over the wall to see the octopus, fishman, who was fishing. "I am the mighty Hatchan, octopus leader of the Arlong pirates!"
"Hold on that's weird," Hatchi said to himself until he saw Zoro looking down at him.
"It sure is." the swordsman replied. Hatchi's eyes widen and looked at the swordsman, suspiciously.
"Hey! Who are you, speak up now?!" He shouted. "Me? I'm Hatchan but all of my friends call me Hatchi!"
"You're a fishman, too?" Zoro asked him.
"Of course! Of course! I'm an amazing octopus fishman but it looks to me like your just a human!"
"Yep." Zoro nodded.
"A Marine or possibly a guest?!" Hatchi questioned.
"A guest? Uh, you can say that." Zoro answered.
"Arlong isn't here, is he?" Hatchi asked him.
"No, I thought you might know where he is." Zoro said.
"Apparently, there's some long nose guy running around and causing trouble. So Arlong locked up the long nosed friend here then went to Cocoyashi village to hunt down that pesky troublemaker."
" Usopp..." Zoro murmured to himself. I guess I better save him. He turned back towards the fishman. "This Cocoyashi village, how do I get there?"
"Get in!" Hatchi told him as he pointed to a large pot, floating in the water. "You are a guest hop in. I'll take you, swordsman."
As Arlong and his crew arrived back at the compound, they were stunned to see Zoro's work. Seeing, many their defeated crew lying around on the floor, dead. Arlong walked over to one as he saw them moving, barely hanging on to life. He picked him up, holding him in his arms. They were dying. His injuries were too great and there was nothing to be done. "What the hell happened here?! Who did this to you?! TELL ME, WHO DID THIS BROTHERS!?" Arlong demanded.
"R-Roronoa Zoro." the fishman said, weakly. Arlong's eyes widen in shock.
"What? The pirate hunter?! Has he come to collect my head?!"
"That man that we caught, that was him..." the fishman told him the he died in his arms. Arlong, as well the remaining of his crew that were alive, were shocked by the news.
"That's him!?" one fishman exclaimed in shock.
Then one of Arlong's fishman commanders walked in, dragging Usopp behind him by his nose. "Arlong, I found him. W-What is this?!" he stammered in shock seeing his fallen crewmates defeated all over the compound.
"Took you long enough, Chuu!" Arlong turned to him.
"Don't tell me that Zoro's-"
Hatchi took Zoro as he swam over to the shorelines that was closer to the village. Zoro hopped out of the pot and landed on the docks.
"Well, here we are, Cocoyashi village! Arlong should be around here, somewhere!"Hatchi said.
"Oh, great, thanks!" Zoro thanked him.
"No problem, bye now!" Hatchi waved and started to swim away before he stopped. "Oh, one more thing, I completely forgot to ask you your name!" Zoro tensed up, before the fishman started to ramble to himself. "What do you mean? We've been over this, I told you my name, Hatchan! Nice to met ya!" He waved goodbye to the swordsman again and swam away, leaving him.
"That was strange," Zoro murmured as he watched him swim away then headed towards the village.
Usopp looked up and Arlong nervously as he laid down on the ground, the fishmen were gathered around as well, surrounding him. Arlong glared down at him. "Captain, this scum isn't enough to satisfy my hunger."
"Oh yeah? Then let me go and I'm sorry about earlier, I was just saying hello! That's how we do it in my village!" Usopp smiled, nervously.
He screamed as Arlong pulled out a knife and pointed it dangerously at his nose. "Long nose, you're were one of Zoro's men. It's only nature for well known bounty hunters to come after me."
"Please don't kill me!" Usopp cried. "I don't have anything to do with Zoro, I promise! Please don't don't kill me!"
"Better yet, why don't you tell me where your little friend is?" Arlong gnashed his teeth together.
"She left and ran off without me! We got separated from each other!" Usopp smiled, nervously.
"Enough of your cowardly lies, even if you don't know Zoro or where your little girlfriend went, you still stood against Arlong, you die either way." Arlong smirked.
"Okay, no more lies! Zoro and I are like brothers, blood for life! If you just as lay one of your creepy webbed fingers on me, Zoro will kill you all!" Usopp insisted. "I honestly don't know where Aya went! She probably went to get Zoro!" Arlong eyes widen a little then made a sickening smirk, chuckling evilly.
"So, her name's Aya, isn't it?" Usopp paled, his body shaking a little.
"Is that right? So if I kill you, Zoro will show up, including her?" Arlong asked, moving the knife closer to Usopp's nose, threateningly.
"No! No! That's not what I was trying to say! I was trying to say the exact opposite! Killing me is bad! If you keep me alive, Zoro will show up!"
"What I want to know is how? How did he escape?" one of his commanders asked. Arlong turned to him.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, is somehow he escaped. I think that somebody has betrayed us. Perhaps, it was Nami who let him leave to see how fast he could take your head." the fishman said.
"Now that you've mentioned it, she has been acting strangely." another one said.
"Enough of this! You should be ashamed! This is pure conjecture!" Nami shouted. Everyone turned seeing her by the gates, including Usopp, walking into the compound.
"Nami?" Usopp whispered.
Nami approached Arlong, narrowing her eyes at him, angrily. "How dare you! You would call me, a traitor? I swore that I was a member of this group, eight years ago. My loyalty is shown with this tattoo."
"I'm sorry, Nami. It's natural for you to be upset but you should know, I don't suspect of anything treacherous, Nami, I trust you. After all, we've known each other for eight years. We're just a little on edge right now that's all. Surely, you can understand that? We need to focus on Zoro and his gang of bounty hunters." Arlong said.
"H-Hey Nami! Say something! Please, Nami!" Usopp called out to her, looking for help.
Nami's face went pale, tensing up, seeing the many fishmen lying around on the ground, scattered all over the compound, defeated. She gritted her teeth, irritated. He just had and go and do that.
"What's wrong, Nami, you're pale, feeling okay?" one of the fishman asked, narrowing his eyes at her, accusingly.
"As for long nose here, not even you can save him now." one of Arlong's men stepped over to Usopp, stabbing the knife down next to his nose. Usopp screamed. "No, not when he defied Arlong."
"How long? How long will I be suspected of betrayal?!" Nami demanded.
"You're too clever for your own good." the fishman said, glaring at her.
"I'll have the amount that Arlong and I agreed to soon. That doesn't make any sense for me to betray you now!" Nami said.
"The amount they agreed to?" Usopp whispered to himself, confused.
"I know. Eight years ago, you agreed to purchase Cocoyashi village for a hundred million belis but I just can't figure it out. You love nothing except money, you betrayed your family and your village for it. So, why do you care for this village now? I thought long and hard about it, but I found this in your room." the fishman pulled out a map of the island that was drawn on a piece of paper, that looked old. Nami's eyes widen before she glared at him.
"It can't be, that's my..." she stammered.
"What?! What do you mean? You're saying that he was captured!?" Zoro exclaimed. He slammed a villager against the house as he was interrogating him.
"Yeah, they took him back to Arlong Park just a little while ago." the villager sputtered, nervously. Zoro released him, dropping him to the ground. Several other villagers were watching him until the doctor stepped up.
"That courageous young man stood up to Arlong and those fishmen. He's probably dead by now."he told Zoro.
"This is bad. They won't be forgiving if he got caught right after my little visit." Zoro murmured, gritting his teeth. Then he took off and ran, leaving the villagers by themselves. "Usopp, hold on!"
"This looks suspiciously like a treasure map and it seems to be of Cocoyashi village." the fishman smirked, holding the map towards Nami.
"I can't believe you had the nerve to go through my personal belongings! That's my map and it has nothing to do with you!" Nami shouted, angrily as she tried to reach for it, but the fishman held it up.
"So angry, is there something on your mind?" he smirked.
"What is this?! Why are all of these guys dead!? What happened?!" Hatchi shouted as he arrived back at the compound.
"The pirate hunter, Zoro, did it. Why weren't you here, Hatchi, huh?" Arlong questioned.
"This could have been prevented had you been here." one of the fishmen retorted.
"Of course it could've, had I only been here! Its unforgivable!" Hatchi said.
"We get it, you weren't here, so you don't know where he is, that right?" Arlong asked.
"Well, let me think about it. I saw one guy, yeah, that's right. He like a vicious fishmen swordsman type..." Hatchi said, thinking to himself before his eyes widen in realization, going pale. "Ooh, that's him!"
"You did see him, you idiot!" one of Arlong's commanders shouted.
"So where did he go?" Arlong asked.
"He told me he wanted to see Arlong, so I gave him a ride to Cocoyashi village." Hatchi told him. Arlong smirked.
"Excellent, that means we don't wait to hurt him. He's going to come straight to me."
"Sorry, Arlong, but had I've known that you were going to be back so soon, I would've kept him here for you! But, he said that he was a guest and I thought that I should take him to the village as fast as a could." Hatchi replied.
"Zoro, huh? Which means, if I could buy him just a little more time-" Usopp reached into his bag slowly while Arlong and the other fishmen were distracted, thinking about Zoro. Nami's eyes widen as she saw him reaching for his bag and quickly ran over to him with her staff.
Why do you keep getting in the way!? Everything's so close to working out, so close!
She slammed her staff into Usopp's face, knocking him back. Usopp glared up at her, rubbing his cheek. "Damn you, Nami! You want to fight, don't ya!?" he shouted, angrily.
"This is your fault, Usopp. You're the one getting in the way. This is what you get for messing with Arlong!" Nami smirked.
"Nami, I'm really disappointed in you. Even after you stole our ship and ran off, Luffy had complete faith in you and you haven't shown an ounce of guilt! How could you betray someone like that!? Are you really that cold hearted!?" Usopp shouted at her.
"The only thing that I trust is money, those dumb enough to be fooled deserve it."
"How can you say that!?" Usopp said in disbelief.
"You idiots, it was going according to plan." Nami said, shaking her head. "I'm not about to let you and your friends ruin eight long years of hard work. So long Usopp, it's just business, you understand."
"Well, I'll be damned, looks like you became a pirate while you were gone." Arlong laughed, smirking at her.
"So long?" Usopp stammered, staring at her in shock. "What are you talking about? Are you going to kill me?!"
"That's right. I wouldn't underestimate me." Nami said, coldly. Usopp was frozen in his spot. He paled as he stared at her.
Oh crap! If I stay here, I'm a dead man! He reached into his bag and quickly pulled out his slingshot, firing a pellet on the ground. "Special attack, smoke star!" It exploded, scattering smoke everywhere around everyone, blinding them.
"Now's my chance!" Usopp shouted, running away as they were distracted. However, just as he was about to reach the pool, Nami was blocking his way. "This is just like something you think of." She pulled out the knife.
"Nami-!" Usopp pleaded to her. "Don't do this!" Nami charged at him, plunging the knife.
"It's only business. This is my only choice." Usopp stared down, seeing blood in his hands. He slowly turned his head towards Nami in disbelief.
"N-Nami! H-How could you!?" he gasped in shock.
"Now go and die."
Usopp fell into the pool, falling into the depths of the sea. Everyone in the compound saw what had happened, including Johnny who was watching through the doors of the gate. He gasped in horror and in disbelief.
"I-I can't believe it! Big sis Nami, killed big bro Usopp!" he cried. Arlong laughed.
"Nami, I'm sorry for doubting you. Without question, you are our friend." He smirked.
"Friend, huh?" Nami glared at him. "There's only one reason I joined this crew and that's to buy Cocoyashi back from you, you got that? It's just business, we're not friends." she walked away from him, heading towards her room in the compound. "Keep your end of the deal and I'll have those belis soon."
"Yes, of course! I'd rather cut my stomach open and die than break a promise concerning money. That's the kind of man I am!" Arlong grinned.
"Glad to hear it, Arlong." she replied.
"She gives me the creeps." one of his commanders replied. Arlong chuckled.
"Oh, what a great woman she's become!"
Johnny gritted his teeth angrily in despair. "U-Usopp! She killed him. That witch killed him!" he shouted as he ran away from the compound.
The sea cow was swimming closer towards the island, pulling the boat with Luffy, Sanji, and Yosaku on it. It was exhausted.
"There it is, Arlong Park!" Luffy shouted, noticing that the creature had slowed down at little. "Hey, pick up the pace, cow!"
"I feels sorry for it. Sanji's kicks most have really taken a toll." Yosaku replied. The sea creature swam closer towards the gates of the compound before turning it's course going in a different direction away from it.
"Not that way! Go the other way! The building, stupid!" Luffy shouted.
Nami opened the door to her room and stepped inside. There were stacks upon stacks of papers, of drawn maps scattered all over the room. In the center there was a giant desk, where she drew her maps.
"It's strange, all this time, and doing it eight whole years since that day..." Nami murmured, quietly reminiscing the first day that she was brought there by Arlong. "Eight years I persevered. I had no choice but to endure it."
There was a huge explosion that shook the entire island with it's shock waves. The sea cow crashed along the shore, sending the small boat flying high into the air as the rope snapped lose.
"It's almost like we're flying!" Luffy cheered, gleefully. Sanji and Yosaku were screaming as they held on tight to the ship.
"We are flying, you moron!" Sanji shouted.
"No, we're falling!" Yosaku shouted as the ship began to descend toward the ground, smashing into the woods. It started to barrel through, smashing through the trees. Zoro was running down the pathway in the forest until he heard a noise. He looked up and his eyes widen seeing Aya in front of him, running towards him.
"Hey, Zoro! I see that you escaped!" she called out to him.
But, there was also something else that Zoro heard, as well Aya. Loud noises of falling trees as something smashed into them were heading towards the two, fast. Zoro turned his head and he screamed as he saw that it was Luffy as well a the boat as it came flying towards him. It nearly slammed into Aya, but missed her by an inch.
"Hey, it's Zoro!" Luffy shouted. The boat smashed right into Zoro, taking it with him, along with the group until it crashed into the side of the mountain. Aya ran over, chasing after it.
"We're here guys!" Luffy shouted, while the other three were climbing out of the wreckage of the ship.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Zoro shouted, angrily. "Were you doing?!"
"What do you mean? We're here to pick up Nami, duh!. How come you haven't found her, yet?" Luffy asked, turning to him. Then he saw Aya running towards the group and smiled and waved at her. "Aya! Hey! Over here!"
"Nice to see you too, idiot," she sighed, but was happy to see him as well as Zoro. "I'm guessing that you've settled your debt with the old man?"
Sanji smiled dreamily at her as he stood up and brushed himself off. "Aya! My love! How it's great to see you again!" he moved in closer, arms out wide, to kiss her, puckering up his lips. An angry pulse came on Aya's forehead and slammed her fist into the chef's cheek. "What is wrong with you, you creep!? Why are you here?!"
Sanji sighed, blushing up at Aya with a dazed expression on his face, rubbing his cheek that she punched. "You're strength is remarkable as your beauty. There's no doubt about that! Your fists of love have touched my heart!" Aya stared at him with a look of disbelief, her cheeks turning red a little. Her heart fluttered at his words.
Is this guy for real? Why am I feeling this way every time that I see him!? Aya narrowed her eyes at Sanji who was still on the ground looking at her with a forlorn expression with hearts in his eyes. Her eyes went softer before she turned her gaze away from him, looking away. It's true, she couldn't help but find him to be very handsome. As well as adorable and loving and- Aya's eyes went wide in realization. Was she in love in Sanji?! No, she can't... Aya shook the thought from her mind. As much as she wanted it so much, so couldn't. She can not get close to anyone on the crew. That is what she promised herself. Aya felt her chest starting to ache. It's not fair! Why couldn't she have a normal life!?
"Oh, yeah, Sanji's our cook, now! He agreed to come along with us! Isn't that great!" Luffy grinned, snapping Aya out of her thoughts. She looked up at him. "We finally have a cook now!"
"That's just great..." Aya deadpanned as she twitched, irritated.
"It is great, isn't it?! Now, I get to wake up and see your beautiful face every morning, as well as Nami's!" Sanji got up and tried to hug Aya but she pushed him away holding him back with her hand. Luffy laughed, as he watched the two then turned his head back over to Zoro.
"By the way, where's Usopp and Johnny?" He asked the swordsman.
"Usopp...?" the swordsman, murmured to himself before his eyes widen in realization. "Oh no! We got to hurry! Come on!"
"Zoro, what's wrong?" Luffy asked.
"That dumb ass has been caught by Arlong! We got to hurry before they kill him!" Zoro explained.
"He's already dead." Everyone turned their heads to see Johnny ahead of them.
"What?!" Aya exclaimed in shock, looking at him in disbelief. Johnny shook his head and fell to his knees on the ground, crying.
"We're too late. Big bro Usopp is dead. Nami murdered him!"
