The Orange Haired Witch
On the surrounding waters of Conocomi island, home to the Cocoyashi village, floated a large ship. The ship possessed white sails with blue letters inscribed into the the cloth that spelled "Marines." The single ship, weaponized with many cannons on either side, approached the island at a steady pace. Once the ship made its course around the island, the view of the tower of Arlong Park was finally in sight.
On the ship, in front of a large quantity of marines wearing their usual uniforms was another marine with the rank of Commodore that went by the name Purin Purin. Unlike the normal grunts of the marines, he wore a large white captain coat with the symbol and letters of the marines tattered into the back.
"So that's the infamous Arlong Park?" Commodore Purin asked aloud, his eyes narrowing dangerously at the tower. "What must be the world coming too when pirates are free to set up a cozy base and just strut about?"
"I could not agree more sir." A marine said as he stood to the commodore's side. "It is an abomination. A blight to our eyes."
"Precisely. And it will not stand." Commodore Purin said, and then turning to the large group of marines that stood at attention behind him. "Listen up men! Our mission today is only to rescue the survivors of Gosa Village which was recently destroyed by the Arlong Pirates!"
His eyes narrowed even further as he continued.
"However….despite our mission only to rescue survivors…." He continued, his voice taking on a deadly edge. "Does that allow us, who stand in the name of justice….To simply overlook a pirate fortress right in front of our eyes?!"
The marines cried out in unison to their leader, "Sir! No sir!"
"Ready the cannon and prepare to fire on my mark." Commodore Peru ordered, his voice full of authority and a sense of justice. "Let's send them scattering before we completely obliterate their entire fortress!"
Back on the courtyard of Arlong park, the fishmen pirate crew remained at their usual posts, seemingly not at all concerned that a ship full of marines were practically waiting to destroy them. Arlong remained seated in his chair, grinning to himself but slightly annoyed at the events that had occurred a few moments before.
Their trip to the human village was only slightly successful. Arlong and his crew put the humans back in their place once again, but they also hadn't managed to capture the "demon" that had attacked his brethren. On top of that, Zoro the pirate hunter had managed to free himself of capture and slaughter his brethren inside his own fortress. He vowed to make the pirate hunter pay with his life.
The only consolation was the amusing show his cartographer, Nami had displayed. One of Arlong's crew members had managed to capture the long nosed human that had been eluding them ever since arriving on the island. When brought before him, Arlong planned on killing the bumbling idiot himself to lure the pirate hunter back into his clutches, but Nami had other plans.
The look of hope in the long nosed human's eyes made Arlong nearly cackle from memory. He genuinely believed that Nami would rescue him. The devastated look on his face when Nami had stabbed him through the abdomen and tossed him into the water like common trash was such a delicious sight that Arlong could feel the taste of cooked meat on his tongue.
Arlong's victory would be short lived as another issue had made itself known in their territory. A group of marines, different from the ones he had been dealing with. Their marine ship waited patiently right in front of his base, with no sign of communication. One of Arlong's men informed him of what they had seen.
"77th branch huh?" Arlong asked, speaking to him as he delivered the news. "Must be new. No matter. Someone go over there and negotiate with their captain. If you can't buy them off with 2 million then just kill them."
"Let me go over there captain!" Sharptooh hissed with an unsettling cackle. "I can be very persuasive!"
Arlong laughed at the prospect. "Shahaha! I don't think so. After all, we are trying to strike a deal with them first! But if they aren't willing to cooperate, maybe I could send you over there to—"
Suddenly, the sound of cannon fire caused the fortress to rumble and the pool's waters to shake. The marine ship had fired their first shot, and the cannonball was heading directly toward Arlong.
Despite his men's screams of panic and warning, Arlong simply grinned and remained in his seat. Reeling his head back, he opened his mouth, revealing his wide maw and razor sharp teeth. Without effort, Arlong caught the cannonball with his chops, and shattered it with the force of his powerful jaws.
Some of his men were in deep shock, never before witnessing the might of Arlong's powerful teeth. Arlong spat the shrapnel pieces of the cannonball onto the floor, his look of negotiation replaced with a menacing glare.
"So much for negotiating." Gura rumbled, crossing his muscular arms.
"Do you still wish to proceed with the negotiations?" One of Arlong's officers asked, though he was aware of what the answer might have been.
"Cancel it." Arlong answered without hesitation. "Kill every last one of them."
Sharptooth let out an excited cackle and after that the sound of Arlong's crew preparing for battle sounded off through the fortress. However, Arlong's officers were fully aware that they would not need an entire force, but only a few men. So instead of sending everyone, the officers volunteered to take care of the marines.
Arlong's officers consisted of a Kurobi, a ray fish man with pale blue skin and unwavering loyalty to Arlong. Hachi, the octopus fishman who was just as loyal. Chew, a smelt-whiting fishman with blue skin and large lips, Sharptooth the piranha fishman with green skin, razor sharp teeth and wide yellow eyes, and Gura, the whale shark fishman with gray skin and a hulking build.
The entire crew knew that the marines didn't stand so much as a chance against the combined force of their officers.
"We will teach those humans a lesson." Kurobi announced, walking ahead of the group. "How dare they attempt to challenge us on the seas
"Try to leave some more for us this time, Sharptooth." Chew mused, walking with his hands in his pockets.
Sharptooth laughed in response, hopping on all fours and lunging ahead, nearly trampling over Hachi in the process.
"Rude!" Hachi called out, quickly following after the group.
Gura followed close behind, cracking his large knuckles and grinning menacingly. "I'm gonna enjoy this."
"That's strange…" one of the marines voiced as the entire marine ship was silent. "Commodore! It seems the cannonball has failed to explode!"
"Well then fire another!" Commodore Purin Purin snapped, his hands clenched tightly. "This is supposed to be our declaration of war! We must show them that we're prepared to fight, no matter what!"
"Yes sir!" The marines force responded together.
However, before the group of marines could move toward the cannon, the Arlong pirate officers succeeded in making their presence known. Chew was the first one to make his move. He leapt from the water, and as he hovered in the air, high enough to see the marines onboard the ship he spat a burst water from his large lips. The water shot forward and hit a marine in the chest. The marine cried in pain as the force of the water spit sent him recoiling back and blood shooting from a hole in his chest as if he were just shot by a bullet from a pistol.
"We're under attack!" One of the marines cried, reaching for his sword.
Before he could grab the hilt, Sharptooth had begun his attack. Leaping from the water and landing behind the marine, he spun his two sharp daggers in both of his hands and slashed through the flesh of the closest marine, and then another, and then another.
The commodore turned his head to witness the scene. Seven of his men had already been cut down, with clear cuts across their bodies and necks. Sharptooth continued his bloody dance, his speed to fast for any of the marines to counter his slashes with their own swords. It felt as if they were being attacked by a phantom. The piranha fishman's agility was too quick for anyone to see him before they were cut down.
One marine had managed to swing just in time for his blade to get close to the fishman's face. "I'll kill you!" He shouted, his eyes fierce and determined.
The blade collided with Sharptooth's face but did not move any further. The marine could only gasp with a mixture of horror and shock as he saw that the fishman had caught his blade between his teeth. Sharptooth looked up at the marine, taking in the fear in his eyes and laughed. Biting down with the power of his jaws, and his sharp piranha teeth, the marine's sword shattered like a shard of glass.
Commodore Peru watched in horror as Sharptooth then took another bite, but this time, out of the shoulder and neck of the marine who screeched in pain.
The remaining marines aimed their rifles and pistols at the two fishmen officers attacking them, but suddenly felt a large presence land behind them. Gura, the hulking officer of the Arlong pirates glared down at them with a menacing grin and cracked his knuckles.
"Open fire!" A marine screamed, wasting no time firing his rifle.
Each marine fired their weapon at the Gura, with hopes that their bullets would send him back into the ocean depths. However, instead of piercing his flesh, the bullets merely bounced off the whale shark fishman's skin like they were shooting at a bullet proof wall. The marines stood in terrified silence as Gura simply stood there with his arms crossed.
A marine could not help but voice his confusion. "H-how?! Our shots aren't even phasing him!"
"You humans should know your place!" Gura laughed brutishly, stretching his muscles. "My skin is tougher than that of a pathetic human! We fishmen are superior in every way!"
To emphasize his point, Gura lunged forward, grasping a marine by his leg with one hand and swung him in the air like a ragdoll before throwing him into another group of marines. The fishmen brute then lunged forward, and punched the marine ship's mast, shattering the wood.
Commodore Peru could feel the entire ship tremor under the force of the punch. The mast immediately gave way, falling over and landing on some of his men. The commodore could not voice the terror he felt in that moment. He had expected an easy victory, to be deemed a hero in the eyes of the villagers and his own men. To perhaps even receive a promotion from his superiors. But he could not have been more wrong.
"You…you bastards!" He shouted, glaring fiercely at Chew who sat on a nearby wooden barrel, watching the violence with a smirk. "You won't get away with this!"
"You should be less concerned about me and more concerned about your ship." Chew responded, a cocky look in his eye. "As of now, your rudder has been removed. And a ship without a rudder only has one destination. The bottom of the sea."
Chew's words rang true as while the three officers on the deck of the marine ship had their fun, the other 2 officers were swimming underneath, enacting their plan to sink the ship and the crew with it.
Hachi, whose job was to use his strength to move a reef, quickly completed his task. Kurobi who swam beneath the marine ship decided to find a way to make it easier to sink. With a powerful yell, he smashed his fist into the wooden bottom half of the vessel. Water from the ocean quickly poured in and the ship had begun to teeter.
Thanks to their combined efforts, and the power of the strong tidal current, a gigantic whirlpool appeared in front of the marine ship. Without the rudder, or mast, the ship was dragged toward the whirlpool with no chance of escape.
"W-we're being sucked in!" A marine screamed as the ship had already begun to plunge into the depths.
With their task completed, Chew and Gura leapt from the ship and returned to the ocean. Sharptooth followed behind them, but not before taking another bite out of a deceased marine's shoulder, savoring the taste of meat in his chops. Commodore Peru and the remnants of his men could only scream as the whirlpool sucked them in.
Within seconds, there was nothing but absolute silence, save for the sound of a cold and lonely wind.
Far back on the island itself, the villagers who were supposed to be rescued by the marines from their fishmen captors, could only stare in silence as their only hope was now gone. Some of the villagers could only cry and sob, the children hugging themselves closely to their parents as they wailed. Other villagers stared in resolution, knowing that it was impossible to escape from Arlong's rule.
※
"There's no way Nami would kill Usopp!" Luffy screamed, his voice full of uncharacteristic rage and his hand gripped tightly around Johnny's collar. "You take that back! We're crewmates! She wouldn't do that!"
"She did!" Johnny wailed, his eyes still teary from delivering the news. "I saw it happen with my own eyes! She stabbed him like it was nothing!"
Luffy became even more enraged. "Say it one more time and I'll swear I'll kick your ass!"
"Luffy stop!" Zoro said. "It's not as if Johnny's the one at fault here."
"Then tell him to stop making up bullcrap!" Luffy snapped.
"Nami-San…killed Usopp-San?" Yamato repeated, her eyes wide with shock. "How…could she do that?"
Ryuza watched in silence, a sorrow filled expression on his face. He did not expect to receive such news upon arriving at the new island. He was fully aware that Nami was a dishonorable thief. After all, she tricked him and stole from him and his partner. But he did not expect her to be a cold blooded murderer on top of that. And to kill Usopp, who she appeared to be comrades with.
The young samurai recalled her laughing with Usopp, talking with him, and treating him with camaraderie back on the Baratie. And now, to receive such news that she murdered him, it almost sounded like a lie. But Johnny claimed he saw it with his own eyes.
"To think we nearly befriended her." Ryuza muttered, crossing his arms. "How could she do such a thing to Usopp-San?"
"She couldn't!" Luffy snapped, staring at Ryuza fiercely. "We're crewmates! There's no way she'd do that! After all we've been through together!"
Ryuza was stunned at the look of certainty and ferocity in Luffy's eyes. Like a stubborn steel wall, Luffy was undeterred at the prospect of Nami murdering Usopp. Ryuza could not understand why he was defending her. Even after she stole his own ship from him and his crew.
Suddenly, a familiar voice asked from down the road. "Just who did you call crewmates, Luffy?"
The group turned their heads to see the voice had come from none other than Nami herself.
The air had suddenly turned cold as a chilly breeze brushed over the area, which was quite odd for such a warm island. Nami stood there in silence, a look of apathy on her face and a long wooden staff gripped in her hand.
Ryuza narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly. His hand clutched his sword so tightly that his knuckles had begun to turn white. A sudden wave of anger shot through the young samurai's soul.
"I didn't expect you two to chase me all the way here." Nami said, addressing both Ryuza and Yamato.
"Of course we did!" Ryuza snapped fiercely.
"You stole our belongings!" Yamato added, her orange eyes narrowing with rage. "Did you really expect us to not try and get them back!?"
Nami, seemingly unphased by their display of anger, crossed her arms. "I expected you guys to be stuck at the Baratie for awhile. But instead you only made things even more difficult for me. Then again, it doesn't really matter anymore now."
Like hell it doesn't matter, Ryuza thought to himself. The thief still had possession of their money and belongings. The young samurai would not leave the island without them. To be bested by not only a thief, but also a heartless killer would have been a great dishonor.
"All of you are nothing but nuisances, stirring up even more trouble than it's worth." Nami said, addressing the entire group this time. "Why did you even come here?"
"We're crewmates." Luffy replied, as if the answer were obvious. "Why wouldn't we come here?"
"Crewmates? Don't make me laugh. It was nothing but a stupid little cooperation. I used you guys to get what I want. There's nothing beyond that."
Ryuza gritted his teeth out of sheer emotion. "I should have known the moment I met you that you were not to be trusted."
"Don't blame me for being dumb enough to lower your guard." Nami said, smirking this time, though her eyes remained passive. "You shouldn't have told me where you were hiding your loot so easily. In fact, I was doing you and your friend there a favor. You two wouldn't last a second over the grand line. You would have been better off staying at that restaurant as servants."
"What was that?!" Yamato exclaimed, her fist tightening and her orange eyes glowing.
Her words prompted Ryuza to nearly draw his blade from its scabbard. Not only did she steal from him, but now she was insulting him and Yamato's intelligence. The thought of cutting her down on the spot suddenly forced its way to the forefront of Ryuza's mind.
"Hey! Nami! Do you remember me?!" Sanji suddenly called out with lovestruck eyes. "I'm the one who served you on the Baratie! Come! Let's set sail together!
"Shut up! Can't you see your making things more complicated by butting in!" Zoro yelled in response.
Sanji turned to him with a deadly glare. "Huh? What was that? Don't you know that love is always a hurricane?"
The two continued their back and forth bickering, despite the serious situation before them.
"I told you so! She's a witch!" Johnny shouted, pointing accusingly at Nami. "She'd kill every last man, woman, or child just to get her hands on every piece of hidden treasure in that village! She's been deceiving all of us from the start! I swear I saw her stab brother Usopp right in front of me and she didn't even hesitate."
"So what?" Nami asked, the coy smirk still on her lips. "Would you like to try and avenge him?"
"Perhaps one of us should." Ryuza hissed, taking a few steps forward, his eyes resolute. "Such trash like you shouldn't have outlived Usopp-San!"
As he began to close the distance, Nami simply stared back at him with her brown eyes narrowed. However, before the young samurai could take another step he heard Sanji speak up behind him.
"Hey, Ryuza." He called out, his hands now removed from his pockets, planning on intervening. "You aren't really gonna cut down a woman, are you? Isn't there a samurai rule against that or something?"
Ryuza's deadly glare was replaced with a look of exasperation. "Of course there isn't!" He exclaimed loudly. "Where did you even come up with something like that?!"
"I dunno, it just seems like a scummy thing to do." Sanji shrugged, with an unimpressed look. "Especially against a defenseless one."
"She's not defenseless!" Yamato exclaimed, pointing at Nami who still had the tall wooden staff in her hand. "See? She possesses a weapon!"
"I mean, can someone really compare a tall stick to a steel sword?" Sanji asked.
Zoro shook his head with an unamused expression. "A weapon is a weapon. So she's not defenseless."
"Hey! I would never cut down a defenseless woman who wasn't an enemy!" Ryuza exclaimed, his voice high as he suddenly felt self conscious, forgetting about the rage he felt earlier. "I would never do that! I mean, I'd certainly duel a woman who possessed a degree of fighting skill, but…hey…don't look at me like that! She has a weapon! Besides, a wooden staff is nothing to laugh at!"
"Ryuza is right." Yamato said, suddenly smiling, seemingly forgetting about the confrontation. "I once read about a legendary powerful female warrior who could defeat entire armies with a single wooden staff!"
"Woah! That actually sounds pretty cool!" Luffy voiced, listening in on the conversation.
Zoro nodded in agreement, his arms still crossed. "See? So she's not exactly defenseless."
"That's not the point!" Sanji yelled irritably, glaring at Zoro. "I wouldn't expect a green haired imbecile like you to understand!"
"The hell did you just say!?" Zoro hissed, his hand moving to his swords.
"I am not an imbecile!" Ryuza cried, believing that Sanji's insult was aimed at him. "I am simply defending my honor and the honor of Usopp-San! But my point still stands that I'd never cut down an innocent and defenseless woman! In this case, the one who stands before is neither of those things! So that means-"
Ryuza's speech was loudly interrupted by the unified cry of Johnny and Yosaku. "Are you guys really discussing this right now?!" Yosaku added, "This is an emergency! This isn't the time to be bickering! We're still in the middle of enemy territory!"
"That's right. If you're going to fight and bicker like children, then why don't you do it somewhere else that's not on this island?" Nami suggested bitterly, unamused by the quarreling in the group. "I'd rather not have outsiders sticking their nose into anymore of our business. If this is about the ship, I'll give it back. And as for your guy's sack of belongings and your money? I put it back in that pathetic little boat that you guys had. So take it and get off this island already. Go bother someone else. Farewell, and good riddance."
Nami's words caused Ryuza to pause. Did he understand her correctly? She was planning on returning their things? He suspected it must have been another trick to get them to lower their guard. Perhaps she was simply luring them into a false sense of security so that they could be ambushed by enemies.
There was nothing but silence as the group simply stared back at Nami. She stood there, her eyes as passive and cold as ever. Ryuza could not understand why she stood there. Was she attempting to see their reaction, or to just wallow in everyone's emotion?
Suddenly, Luffy shifted and fell over, landing on his backside against the ground.
"Luffy?!" Zoro called out, turning his attention toward him.
Ryuza turned to him as well, believing he had fallen unconscious. "Hey, are you alright?"
"Yep. I'm gonna sleep." Luffy replied, closing his eyes and raising his arms behind his head as if he were in a nice bed.
There was absolute silence amongst the group, until everyone cried out in unison, "Sleep?!"
"Luffy-San! How could you possibly sleep at a time like this!" Yamato shouted in exasperation, her eyes widened with irritation.
"In the middle of the road no less!" Johnny added.
"I don't feel like leaving this island yet." Luffy replied, letting out a yawn as he kept his eyes closed. "And I don't really care what's going on this island either….and I'm just sleepy, so I'm sleeping."
This was another time Ryuza had been stunned and confused by Luffy's mannerism. Someone who had just murdered his friend and crew member was standing a few feet in front of him, and he was choosing to sleep? The young samurai had begun to wonder if this was genuinely how pirates operated. If so, how could Yamato want to become one? And how could someone like the Great Kozuki Oden partake in such a folly?
"Fine!" Nami suddenly shouted, her voice carrying more anger for the first time in the entire meeting. "If you won't listen to me, then you can all die for all I care!"
And with that, Nami stomped off, her fists balled and her body trembling with rage. Ryuza narrowed his eyes on her as she departed. He wasn't so sure of what to do now. He and Yamato no longer had a reason to pursue her. She claimed she was going to return their belongings and their ship. They could finally leave and continue their journey in search of glory and to become stronger.
Despite this, Ryuza could not understand why he felt as if he did not want to leave the island just yet.
Author's Note: That's another two down! I want to thank everyone that has favorited and followed the story. Seeing that gives me more encouragement! I've almost written enough to bring the Arlong park arc to a close so expect new chapters very soon as we continue!
FunkoHero15: Amazing story. I was wondering if Ryuza should get a devil fruit of his own. Maybe a zoan fruit to enhance his fighting capabilities. I really hope you continue this fanfic till the end.
Author: Thank you so much for taking the time to review and your kind words! I'll do my best to keep writing for this story as long as possible. As for devil fruits, you make a good concept but I cannot say any further for the sake of spoilers. But please, keep telling me your thoughts!
The Storm Master 567: Always like an OC OP story and, so far, im liking it. Yamato is one of mv new favs who I don't think got the credit she deserved. Should have had more fights and actually joined the crew. If you had to put him somewhere, how strong is Ryu? Like Zoro and Sani level? Or somewhere just below it. As it seems like he's more of a skilled fighter than brute force it like Zoro and Yamato. Ever thought of maybe having him learn breathing moves like in demon slayer? Just a thought
Author: Wonderful question! The next few chapters will actually answer where Ryuza stands in terms of strength. I look forward to display his strength. Also I'm not really sure about the breathing moves due to me not having watched Demon Slayer. Please continue to display your thoughts!