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And without further ado:
Chapter 14:
Chaos in the Streets
For all the cultural and anatomical differences between humans and fishfolk, they certainly screamed the same. Zeo didn't care for all the screaming, but he supposed it was par for the course when you're just out shopping and a host of pirates with a massive Lion Sea King swarm in and take you hostage. The officer stood back and watched as his most fervent subordinates rounded up the poor shoppers.
The area he had told them to attack was known as the Marine Shopping District, an area named for its proximity to the ocean rather than any connection to the World Government. A handful of merfolk had managed to escape into the water before the New Fishman Pirates had formed a wall of bodies to cut off that route, but he doubted they would return with anything significant if they returned at all. The Lion Sea King hung above them with the use of a bubble, its rumbling growl a constant warning to the populous.
The one Zeo had let be the figurehead, a Clownfish Fishman, hopped up on a bench and threw down a block of wood with a photo attached to it. The first shopper to see it, a mermaid with her son, froze.
"You!" the clownfish yelled, pirates dragging the fishman he pointed to –the one who appeared to be the mermaid's husband– toward the front where they dumped him.
"Al!" the mermaid yelled, their son calling for his father. They were restrained by other pirates.
"Al, huh?" the clownfish smirked. "Step on the picture."
"What?" the man gasped, his gaze falling to the image. "No. No! You can't make me!"
"I don't think you understand who has the power here," the clownfish commented, another pirate resting his sword at the man's neck. "That wasn't a question. We have both you and your family at swordpoint. Now step on the damned picture."
The unfortunate shopper trembled, his fear almost palpable in the air, before he took another look at the picture. From the ground, the smiling face of the late Queen Otohime, stared back, beautiful. In moments, her speeches and ideals that she shared to the rest of the island so long ago before her death echoed through the man's mind. Her plea to not let the next generation be poisoned by their senior's hatred and experiences. He looked up, his eyes glaring at the pirate.
"No."
"I'm sorry?" the figurehead questioned, the Sea Lion staring down on them growling.
"I said no!" Al reaffirmed. "I won't let your hatred-"
"Fine," the clownfish scowled, cutting the civilian off. "Then be an example of what happens when you defy the New Fishman Pirates."
The shopper gasped as a sword stabbed through his back, his cry turning into a gurgle as he fell over. The crowd screamed, his wife and son calling for him while other parents covered the eyes of their children. The man's movements slowed to a stop, a pool of red growing from his body. The blood touched the edge of the block, the frame of the picture now stained as if in vicious mockery to the way the queen had fallen so many years ago.
"Anyone else want to argue?!" the clownfish yelled to the cowering onlookers. "You'll be free to go as soon as you step on the picture and swear off Otohime's stupid dreams of peace and coexistence! The New Fishman Pirates are going to lead our species to the surface and take it for ourselves! You got that?"
"Don't say her name!" a member of the crowd shot back, her identity hidden in the masses. "You aren't worthy to say it!"
"She'd right!" another voice added. "You're the stupid monsters here!"
"You ingrates! Can't you see the change Fishman Island needs? Humans are nothing but a blight on our species! And if you won't acknowledge that, we'll force it on you! Bring me a child!"
"No!" The mother's call cut off as a fist to the face ripped her child from her arms. The kid, a merman no older than five, was dragged forward into the hand of the clownfish who held him aloft. He raised his voice, yelling over the cries of the child.
"All of you will step on the photo or I will kill this child!"
The crowd fell silent in horror, but Zeo did not stay to watch. He faded into invisibility, shuffling along the ground so no one could see through his camouflage. The doors to the drugstore opening went unnoticed in the chaos outside.
With one victim and one young captive, the people started to slowly comply; first one then more citizens moving forward as bade to begrudgingly place one foot on the photo. Dirt and tears slowly began to mar Queen Otohime's lovely visage as the people wept, silently begging for her forgiveness.
"This sure ain't th' right way ta enlighten folks," a voice commented, pirates nearly getting whiplash as they turned to find the speaker in their midst. The hood of the figure's brown robe was raised, hiding all but his wan smile in shadow. His hands were hidden, tucked into his sleeves so the cuffs touched each other. "Fear an' hate only breeds more fear an' hate. An' when one's focus o' hatred's gone, then th' one left finds somethin' else ta hate. I've heard it called th' Red Spiral."
'Are you talking to him or me?' Rum asked.
"Hah?" the clownfish blinked, stomping over to the odd monk where he grabbed a fistful of the front of brown robes while the child continued to struggle in his other hand. Being a clownfish, the fishman did not feel the small electrical current running through the cloth. "Who the Hell are you?"
"Iffin ya kill all th' humans," the hooded monk continued, ignoring the question, "which ya can't, but iffin ya do, what then? Will ya attack th' Skyfolk next? Or maybe th' Longarms? They're human enough."
"Shut up! Who the Hell do you think you are?"
"I am but a humble monk," the man answered, his smile widening to a mad grin. His arms withdrew from his sleeves, gold-capped tonfa in hand and sparking with electricity. "A humble, wanted monk whose crew yer boss 's gotten on th' wrong side of."
Before the clownfish could react, the dual tonfa came down, bashing either side of the fishman's head. He gasped, blood spraying from his mouth as his hold on both the robes and the child relaxed. The merman boy swam away as fast as he could, crying "Mommy!"
"Alright all you pirates!" Gin yelled, throwing his hood off you reveal his face. "I am th' 'Lectric Devil o' the Straw Hat Pirates, and yer captain Hody Jones picked a fight with us! We didn't start it an' we don't want it, but we're sure as Hell gonna finish it!"
"How arrogant can you humans be?" another pirate questioned. "They send one stupid-sounding guy in stupid-looking clothes to fight a whole contingent of fishmen and a trained Sea King? We're gonna tear you apart!"
'They aren't going to defeat us, but you must admit the man has a point about your looks. Now if you would trade out those robes for a suit or at least something other than brown…'
"Didcha think I was alone?" Gin grinned, letting out a long, loud whistle.
"…"
Nothing moved for a few seconds, the pirates' new spokesfish putting on a cocky smirk.
"Was that supposed to scare us, human? You-"
And then Gin received his answer, a roar bubbling up from below the ocean. Water exploded upward as the Thousand Sunny burst through the surface. She hung there for a split second before tilting forward, splashing down with a spray of white foam. Ropes shot out before the pirates could comprehend what happened, said ropes wrapping around the floating Sea King. One large lion battled another, but only one had the advantage of surprise.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, fishfolk of all ages!" Franky's voice called from the deck of the ship. "Allow me to introduce you to the greatest ship to ever sail in the Grand Line, a masterpiece of every shipwright of Water 7, and the ship of the future Pirate King, the ssssssuuuuupppperrrrrr Thousand Sunny!"
"Take this!" As if to punctuate her entrance, Sunny let out a yell and slammed the Sea King into the ground, the concrete cracking and cratering under the force of the beast. Citizens goggled as the great creature struggled, gasping for breath. "Only one lion! Me!"
"Thatta girl, Sunny!" Franky cheered, the ship using the now-probably-concussed sea creature like a makeshift flail.
"Get in the water!" a pirate yelled. "Overwhelm that ship!"
"Ya really think I'll let ya get that far?" Gin questioned, a bolt of lightning charring the pavement at the pirate's feet. "We ain't got th' time or patience ta deal with all y'all, so let's get this over with."
"Kyakya!" Daruma laughed from his frog-like position overlooking the small plaza before the Fishman Cultural Hall, bouncing on his back legs even as his hands stayed firmly planted on the rubble under him. Citizens who had just before been in the area looking for any sign of the Straw Hats to comply with Hody's earlier demands, were now being marched like cattle to the photo of Otohime resting on the ground. It was already starting to show signs of wear, the dust and scuff marks of nearly 20 assorted feet, shoes, and tails. "How boring! No one is putting up any fight. I was hoping there would be at least some resistance, kya!"
As if on que, the flow of people came to a halt, a single mermaid floating on a bubble with her tail dug into the dirt. In doing so, she was refusing to place said tail on the picture.
"What are you waiting for?" Daruma questioned. "You'll be free to go as soon as you step on her! Kya!"
"We would never be free under you," the mermaid hissed. She was taller than the average mermaid, her skin not as supple in a show of her age. Her wavy gray hair fell to her navel, nearly hiding the top of a dorsal fan that ran the length of a similarly-colored tail. Her own teeth were like needles, evidence of this individual being a Moray Eel Mermaid. "If we comply, then you'll just make us do something else. You pirates are all the same, no matter what species."
"Do not compare us to human pirates!" Daruma demanded. "One more word like that and I'll take a bite out of you!"
"Not if I take one out of you first! I'd rather have to spit your nasty foot out than disrespect our late queen!"
"Sea Gorilla!" Daruma yelled, the giant creature appearing at the call to climb over the culture hall. It stared down in the crowd with dark eyes, no sense of understanding save for following orders. "Kyakya! You might be bigger than me, but Sea Gorilla is bigger than all of you. A bite out of him will only piss him off. Don't forget, we currently have the king hostage."
That was a lie, of course, but the populous didn't know that as evidenced by their continued search for the pirates as Hody had demanded. The resistant woman flinched at the mention of the king.
"Get out of my way!" a Sardine Fishwoman cried, her small, silvery arms pushing the hesitant mermaid out of the way so she could stomp on the photo of the late queen. The small woman's large eyes had a panicked gleam in them as she brought her foot down on the picture again and again. "Damn the humans! They can burn for all I care! Just let me go home!"
"Kyakya! That's the spirit we're looking for!" Daruma couldn't help laughing as his subordinates parted for the fishwoman to pass into freedom. She ran without looking back, never acknowledging the mermaid she'd thrown from her bubble, grounding her on land while surrounded by hostile pirates.
"You coward!" the mermaid yelled. Her words did nothing to stop the sardine woman. Conversely, seeing the woman go free only inspired a renewed flow of citizens to step on the picture and run. "Stop it! Remember the words of our queen!"
"Her words aren't going to save us," a young fishman told her. Based on his age, he wasn't even old enough to remember the queen, much less her words or speeches.
"I'm not the biggest fan of royalty," a woman's voice called from above, citizens and pirates alike turning upward to see the voice's origin, "but Queen Otohime sounds like she was a good woman."
A pink-clad woman crashed down into the plaza with the force of a small meteor, cratering the ground where Daruma had been sitting only a moment before. The impact kicked up a cloud of dust, obscuring the sight of all but the silhouette of a woman in the midst of standing. The image moved almost slowly, casually opening a parasol as if it were a sunny day and she was preparing for a calm walk in the park.
"Who the Hell are you?" Daruma questioned as the dust started to settle, the cookiecutter shark on guard after the woman's sudden entrance.
As if in response, a pellet hit the ground near Daruma's feet, the miniature fishman jumping away as a cloud of blue grew from the point. A trio of pirates that had been standing nearby did not move with the same speed as their commander had, the three first falling to one knee before slumping over, asleep.
"You missed," Amy stated, a wave of her parasol dispersing the dust and aerosol paint with a pressurized blast of wind. "I though you said you had a lot of practice, Grace."
"It's not my fault you got impatient, Big Sis," Grace responded, the chemist hopping from a nearby rooftop with a flip. "You're no better than Zoro."
"What's that supposed to mean?" the chocolatier demanded.
"He did the exact same thing at the palace," the younger woman replied. "Except that he didn't know I was there, which makes you worse than Zoro."
"I recognize you," Daruma scowled, his eyes squinting. "You're members of the Straw Hat Pirates!"
"Amazing deductive reasoning!" Grace gasped, a clear edge of mockery in her tone. "A pair of humans show up and attack you when your captain has openly declared war on them in a land where humans are very rare. No one would ever figure it out."
"Do you think I'm scared of a couple of human females?" the fishman pirate asked, gnashing his teeth. "Kyakya! I'm going to eat you both for dinner!"
"Now that is gross," Amy sniffed. "I much prefer to make food than become food, thank you very much. You'll have to settle for a knuckle sandwich."
"Fingers and bread are a decent combination."
The humans blinked, glancing at each other.
"I don't know if that was a clever comeback or if he was really considering the idea," Grace admitted with a shudder at the mental image of a literal knuckle sandwich. "Can we just get this over with?"
Amy opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out as a massive fin wrapped around her body, lifting the kilo-woman into the air. The blonde quickly came face-to-face with a massive gorilla head attached to the body of a giant fish, said fish body with the sort of apposable front fins able to grab her. More telling to her predicament were the disturbing hearts present in the eyes of the Sea King.
"Shit on a biscuit," Amy cursed, struggling to escape. Unfortunately, the fins of the creature were semi-elastic, causing them to stretch out when she pushed her arms or legs against it, keeping her contained in the makeshift fist. "Why the Hell do apes keep falling in love with me?"
"…What?" Grace blinked.
"That's a story for another time," Amy insisted, redoubling her efforts to escape as the Gorilla Sea King brought her closer to its face. "A time when I'm not stuck!"
"Don't worry, Big Sis! I'll get you out!" Though she moved to act on her promise, the younger woman was forced to hop away as Daruma's jaws chomped down on the ground where Grace had stood, the Shark Fishman taking a whole chunk out of the street. Rubble crumbled as the New Fishman officer squeezed, the rock in his mouth shattering with a crunch.
"That's assuming I'll let you, girlie!"
"Alright, we're doing this now," Grace grumbled, stepping back with her left leg while placing her arms in an open-palm fighting stance. "Sorry, Big Sis, I guess you'll have to figure out that gorilla on your own. I need to handle this bite-happy bastard first."
"Handle me?" Daruma sneered. "As if it'll be that easy!"
Angered by the clear disrespect he felt he was receiving, Daruma charged, galloping forward on all fours. Grace breathed deeply as she watched him approach, focusing on all she'd learned over the past two years. One foot slid up and out in a crescent, Grace's hands flowing through the air where a rippling, purple haze began to form.
"Chemical Bending," Grace muttered, her hand's flashing out with great, sweeping movements, "Gaseous Flow: Argon Whip!"
A purple whip made of argon gas formed in the air between Grace's hands, the young woman lashing out with it. Daruma hopped from side to side with his approach, the attack carving gashes into the street behind him.
"I've got you now, human!" the cookiecutter yelled, coming into biting distance. Grace spun with all the elegance of her namesake, the whip condensing into an orb of softly-glowing purple in her palm.
"Neon Argon!"
Daruma gasped as the swirling orb of gas dug into his back. He kicked out, his foot catching Grace in the arm, throwing her off just long enough for the cookiecutter to reach the ground. He didn't land, falling jaws-first into the concrete. He disappeared into a new hole, gone into the ground.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the small plaza, Amy glared at the gorilla-fish that had her in its clutches. While she would have preferred for Grace to do something about it, the officer in charge of this group had other plans. That meant that Amy would need to make other plans of her own. It was just unfortunate that said plans could have some collateral damage.
"Hey!" Amy yelled, directing her voice to any citizens that could hear her. "Everyone, get away from here! This is gonna be messy!" She turned back to the monster that was slowly dragging her toward puckered lips. She smirked, instantly increasing her mass to 20,000 kilos, twice what had been her limit before the crew separated.
The sudden weight caught the gorilla-fish by surprise, Amy dragging the creature down. It had been perched on the top of the cultural building, so the force caused it to pivot around the approximate area of its shoulder, crashing the Sea King into the ground upside down. Its fin opened, Amy rolling out and onto her feet.
"That sucked," the kilo-woman grunted, wiping fish mucus off her dress as best she could. Movement caught the corner of her eye, the blonde turning to where the rest of Daruma's men stood with their swords at the ready. "Oh, good. I was hoping for some more victims. That pervy fish-monkey just wasn't enough. Kyahahaha!"
"Hihihi!" Ikaros Much laughed, three of Fishman Island's upper class naught but dried corpses at his feet. Mansions and stores of Fishverly Hills, Fishman Island's most expensive and luxurious living district, crumbled to rubble as Ikaros' subordinates worked together to removed cornerstones and other structural support. The famous and the wealthy of the area cowered around them, powerless as they watched their homes and familiar scenery be smashed under the wrath of pirates. That among the crowd were Ryugu soldiers stolen from the palace, disarmed and restrained, only served to lower their spirits further. "You've looked down on us for far too long, ch! Now we will look down on you, ch! Sea Giraffe, destroy the bell tower, ch!"
The Giraffe Sea King let out something akin to both a giraffe's bray and a roar of affirmation before the creature swung its long neck, busting through a nearby clocktower that had, up until that moment, tolled out public reminders of the time each hour. The sandstone of the tower shattered under the force, chunks getting launched hither and yon while the rest of the stone let out a grating protest to gravity. The natural force won after only a moment, the great bell within the tower hitting the cobbled street with a muted ker-thud!
"Hihihi! Watch as the kingdom you know crumbles, ch! From the ashes of the flawed and weak Ryugu Kingdom will rise the new Fishman Island, ch! The one that will have us all step into the sun with the humans underneath us, ch! We will-"
Ikaros cut himself off, bending backwards almost reflexively as a bird of fire flew over him, searing a black outline into the broken wall behind the Giant Squid Fishman.
"Who did that, ch?!" Ikaros cried, tears of fear in his eyes. "Who just tried to turn me into dried squid, ch?! I'll kill you, ch!"
No one answered the fishman officer's demand, more fiery birds blooming from a nearby rooftop. The mere image of the flames was enough to send Ikaros running and screaming, his back bent at that unnatural angle while his subordinates moved to cut the flames with their swords.
"How dare you use Boss Ikaros' fear against him like that!" a Cuttlefish Fishman yelled, pulling a dozen knives from the folds of his clothes as his skin turned red with anger. The semi-cephalopod ran to the base of the building where the firebirds has appeared, a layer of sticky mucus allowing him to climb the outside wall.
"I've got you now!" the cuttlefish yelled, vaulting over the edge of the roof with his knives bared in hands and face-tentacles, but only an empty rooftop answered him. "Huh?"
"Super, Secret, Silent, and Stealthy Usopp Hammer!" a voice whisper-yelled behind the fishman, a hammer coming down on the back of his head. The first blow was only enough the knock the inhuman pirate off balance, but that served to open him to more blows, each driving the knife-wielder into the rooftop until he was little but a twitching mass of lumps and bruises.
Kaku blurred into view beside his fellow long-nosed human, a series of hand signs doing absolutely nothing to tell Usopp what the ex-agent was trying to say. Not for the first time since the crew separated for their battles did Usopp question why they allowed Luffy to place the temporary mute with someone who could not understand his silent communication.
"Right," Usopp nodded, pretending to understand the Zoan. "So I'll keep shooting from the roof while you go down there and keep them distracted. I do my best work at a distance."
Kaku nodded, remembering the pirate's amazing accuracy even two years ago. Unfortunately, that was not the sort of response he expected to his question about what they could do about saving the hostages. Resorting to more of a charades approach, Kaku carefully moved to the edge and pointed to the crowd of civilians.
"They've got hostages?!" Usopp gasped, completely giving away their position more than his Firebirds already had. Kaku sighed, pinching his square nose as all the pirates below them instantly locked on. He reached down, tossing the insensate cuttlefish off the building in the hopes that seeing one of their own in such a state would demoralize them.
"Holy shit, they killed Kenny!" one of the pirates cried.
"Y-Yeah, and we'll kill the rest of you!" Usopp yelled, fully aware that 'Kenny' wasn't dead. "Now let those people go, or else!"
"Hii?" Ikaros blinked. "Wait, I know you, ch! You're one of the Straw Hats, ch!"
"Oh great," Usopp moaned, having flashbacks to another fishman he fought with an annoying verbal tick. "What's with you fishman pirates and ending your sentences with something stupid? First it was that Chew guy with his name and now you going 'Ch!' every time!"
"Are you making fun of me, ch?" Ikaros demanded. "Men, kill them, ch!"
"Kaku, get them!" Usopp yelled, only to see his companion with stars in his eyes. The suited Zoan was staring at the Sea Giraffe, a mad, obsessive grin widening across his face. "No, wait-"
And then he was gone, Shaving and Moonwalking into the air above the Sea King where he brought a transformed hoof down on the creature's skull, sending the monster into the rubble of the bell tower, stone and pirates flying in all directions.
"Sea Giraffe!" Hammond cried, worried for his favorite mount. "You bastard!"
"…Crap," Usopp hissed, nocking a Pop Green into Kabato. "Well, I guess I just have to win on my own so I can brag to Ace and Merry. I'll be the coolest if I win. And that means I…" He paused, a flame of determination sparking in his eyes. " I will win! And I will be the favorite uncle!"
Ikaros blinked. "…What?"
Mad giggles echoed through the streets of Sake Factory, a town of new buildings and distillation plants for the creation of alcohol of all kinds in homage of Moby Dick's protection. The creation of such drinks had taken on a new revolution because, though he was quite similar to the late Whitebeard, Moby Dick was his own entity. His favorite drink of choice was porphyra sake, a type of sake distilled using the rare porphyra seaweed that gave it a pink tint as opposed to the usual clear.
Porphyra seaweed was one of the hardest to grow, however, and Moby Dick cared for a well-balanced diet of alcohol, a diet the Ryugu Kingdom had agreed to supply, reasoning that alcohol was one of the things that Fishman Island can use to get on the good sides of the world's royalty when they finally do manage to attend the World Summit. That the New Whitebeards always paid an unnecessarily-exorbitant commission for said alcohol kept the town flourishing even in its young age, it's research into fermentation on the cutting edge.
Unfortunately, the irony of the previous statement could not be appreciated by the town's residents. Where Sake Factory had once been a lively scene with places offering tours and taste-testings not unlike the wineries of the surface (the most famous winery of which was the Wallace Family Winery in the West Blue), it was now a place of pain, fear, and loss. Buildings lay in perfectly-cubed piles, their insides pilfered of their stock to sate the want of the hired swordsman leading the attack against it.
"Mr. Hyouzou, please!" a fishman pirate begged, one of the few with enough guts to not run from the hired hand Captain Hody had placed in charge of the squad. "You need to slow down! When you go overboard, you start cutting everything! You've already killed the soldiers we had as hostages!"
"Hah?" Hyouzou hiccupped, the stolen barrel in one of his tentacles parting from his lips just enough to show the stab he'd used to open it. Pink-tinged sake dripped down the barrel and his chin, a clear flush in the Octopus Merman swordsman's cheeks. "Shtop? Why wou-*hic*… would I shtop?" He tilted the barrel, intending to drain it of the last of the sake within. He froze, pulling away only to notice the container was already empty. Anger twisted his face before he tossed the barrel into the air, light glinting from his swords as the man diced the empty barrel into sawdust. That the subordinate that had been trying to get him to stop was bisected in the process was only collateral and Hyouzou didn't care to notice.
"…!" the poor pirate gasped, his soundless cry left unnoticed as the one who had caused his death shuffled away, looking for more to drink. The rest of the men –at this rate, they could be called the survivors, even the Elephant Sea King– watched with terror.
"Hoh!" Hyouzou grinned, coming up on another building, this one with a windmill. "This one looks nice!"
His sword flashed and, for a moment, it seemed like his action would have no consequence. In the next moment, however, the top half of the building shifted, slipping down along its new diagonal cut before the entire work became naught but fine cubes no bigger than a fist.
The inside of the building was simple. A pool of liquid in the process of fermenting sat in the center of what had been the room, a fan of paddles in the liquid connected to a beam that had, presumably, been turned by the windmill to stir the liquid regularly. The edge of once-room was lined with barrels, a sight Hyouzou seemed to enjoy.
"My my," a female voice commented, the Octopus Merman turning to glare at this new interruption to his drinking. For her part, Robin was not noticeably watching the fishman, instead studying the bisected corpse with Zoro at her side. "This is quite scary. I suppose one could suggest our adversary is to be a cut above the rest."
"I really shouldn't be surprised," Zoro sighed, equally apathetic to the dead pirate. "I think this is the first time your morbid sense of humor actually fit a situation."
"It is not often that such a situation presents itself, Zoro," Robin replied. "Therefore, I must endeavor to utilize each to my full ability."
"Would you just speak regular Common, woman?" Zoro demanded. "I shouldn't have to think about your words to figure out what you're saying."
"ɭøɻɛ ʐøʛæ ʑʉ̈ǂ ʁɶ, Zoro?"
"That wasn't even Common!"
Robin did not answer, only letting out a light laugh at the verdet's aggravation.
The exchange itself did not interest Hyouzou, nor did the fact that the two speakers were human. The one and only thing that the New Fishman officer zeroed in on were the three swords hanging at the man's side. He felt the familiar itch well inside him, that instinctive, driving need to cut and cut and CUT AND CUT AND-
Clang!
There was no satisfying cut. No silent scream of death or gasp of pain. Hyouzou hung for a moment, almost suspended in the air, his weight going into all eight of his swords only for them to be blocked by a mere two. Zoro's eyes narrowed as he glared at the officer that attacked them, himself interposed between the assailant and Robin with Kitetsu III and Shusui in his hands.
"I think we found our guy," Zoro grunted. "He's not a real swordsman, though. No true swordsman would try to stab someone from behind."
"Not a real swordsman?" Hyouzou blinked as if the words didn't make sense through the haze of his drunkenness. "You're not a swordsman?"
"That's not what I said at all, dumbass!" Zoro yelled, pushing Hyouzou away with a burst of strength. The merman slid backward, his tentacles helping him keep his balance even as his torso tilted with inhuman flexibility. "You aren't a true swordsman. You're a shame to the swords you wield."
The drunken blush on Hyouzou's face drained instantly, his eyes narrowing in rage. The merman's whole demeanor changed, becoming more angry, aggressive, and alert.
"How dare you," the New Fishman's hired hand growled. "I am a professional assassin and Fishman Island's best swordsman, wielder of the Eight-Sword Style. Before this, I was just after you for the money because it's what my employer told me to do. But now? At least now I can take pleasure in killing you."
"You can try," Zoro replied, "not that you'll win. My swords carry the weight of my ambition, which makes them stronger than your money-grubbing clubs."
"Oh dear," Robin commented, unaffected by the staredown between the swordsmen. "He has twice as many swords as you do, Zoro."
"The Hell is wrong with your math?" the human male blinked, glancing back at his companion for only a moment.
"I was not only referring to your steel." Both Zoro and Hyouzou blanched at the insinuation the woman was making, Hyouzou took that as an insult despite the fact that octopi –and thus Octopus Mermen as well– did not have the equipment she was referring to in the traditional sense.
"Now is not the time for that!" Zoro shouted.
"You bitch!" Hyouzou yelled, Zoro instantly turning his attention back to the fishman.
"What did you just call my crewmate?" he questioned, his voice low. "I'll turn you into bad sushi!"
Mermaid Cove was a beautiful cove where much of the mermaid population spent their free time, as the appropriate name would suggest. The cove itself was not large, but its connection to the ocean-lake that surrounded Fishman Island gave the aquatic women all the space they needed to swim. The land part of the cove was constantly covered in the lounging bodies of mermaids tanning themselves in the light of the Sunlight Tree Eve that brought warmth to them on the ocean floor. Though the mood was tense after the island-wide announcement Hody Jones had made some time ago, no new announcements had come, easing the worries of the mermaids who had come to the cove to relax.
As they were, the mermaids were wholly unaware of the eyes watching them from behind one of the standing pieces of large coral. Caribou licked his lips out of habit, his mind seeing Beri signs over the heads of every mermaid he saw. Their beauty meant little to him over a greater payout because, as every individual affiliated with the slave trade of Sabaody knew, female slaves sold for more when they were more beautiful. What's more, he had no ulterior plans for the mermaids he was planning on kidnapping, for 'unsampled' merchandise was worth two or three times the price.
The Celestial Dragons were sick, but they paid oh so well.
"That one would be worth 20 at least," Caribou muttered to himself, his eyes attached to tentacles of mud so the rest of his body remained hidden. "Oh, and that one's worth at least 30! I'm gonna be rolling in cash!"
"What are you looking at, bro?" Coribou asked, staring at his older brother.
"I'm looking at our future merchandise," the Logia answered. Going back to staring at the mermaids. He froze. "Coribou, why are you here? I told you to take the Sea Bear and go get the rest of the crew."
"I sent Balerion to go get them." the pale pirate answered, indicating the missing iguana that usually acted like a wig. Caribou thought it said something about his brother that he was such a moron but that he'd named his pet Balerion. It also said something that he had, once again, sent his slow animal on a quest that was time-sensitive.
Coribou's eyes snapped back to his face so he could glare at the idiot he called his vice-captain and (half-)brother.
"I told you to go get them, you buffoon! Balerion's legs are too small to get to where we hid the ship!"
"Oh!" Coribou blinked. "That makes sense, bro! I'll go get them!"
The larger man turned, jogging away with a slower but steady pace. Despite his brother's lack of reason or brains in general, Caribou was not concerned that Coribou would get lost. The man whom the Marines had named the 'Blood Splatter' had a superb sense of direction that bordered on the Observation Haki stuff they'd heard about. He would find the Sea Bear, his lizard, and the crew and be back in no more than 10 minutes. It was the only useful skill he had outside his brute strength in battle.
"Now…" Caribou grinned, his body starting to collapse into a puddle of muck, "it's time to get started."
And so, Caribou began his dirty deed, locating mermaids who were beautiful, alone, and distracted. By the third, he had worked out a very effective system, first covering their mouths so they couldn't scream before restraining their arms when they tried to resist. From there, it was just a quick process of absorbing them into the swampy hammerspace within his Logia form.
It was on the eighth mermaid abduction that the situation changed, a trio of newcomers entering the cove. Caribou's eyes widened as he watched Merry, Chopper, and Sanji step into the area.
"Viva Fishman Island!" Sanji cried, hearts in his eyes at all the mermaid beauties in the area. His enthusiasm did not seem unwelcome, a number of mermaids now looking over the chef with interest. "Hello, all you gorgeous mermaids!"
"No!" Chopper yelled, shifting into his Heavy Point to obstruct the blond's vision. "You need to calm down, Sanji! You're still recovering from your concussion, blood loss, and mental shock all at once! If you strain yourself too much, you could go into physical shock, which is way worse!"
"Merry-chan~!" a group of mermaids called, swimming over to the Klabautermann in question who knelt by the water. Mina the mermaid –the one that had led Merry and Robin to the local Poneglyph– was at the lead of the troop. "It's good to see you safe and sound. We were worried about you when that Hody called you all out and you and Robin-chan left. Is she ok? What about King Neptune? Princess Shirahoshi?"
"They're all safe," Merry answered. "The New Fishman Pirates took the king and princess hostage like they claimed, but we quite literally crashed their party and chased them away. Unfortunately, we have reason to believe at least one of them or an ally of theirs is here somewhere. We're here to beat them off and keep you all safe." Merry paused, punching one palm as a battle-happy grin stretched over her face. "Well, mainly to kick their ass. They picked a fight with us."
"Haa," a particular group of mermaids swooned, apparently romanticizing the pirates' coming battle in their minds.
"I have found my All Blue," Sanji swore, his legs turning to noodles and his eyes turning to hearts as they do. "Fear not! 'Black Leg' Sanji of the Straw Hat Pirates is here to defend you all! Under my watch, not one hair on any of your heads will be harmed!"
Another group of mermaids swooned, and Merry started to wonder if some of the more questionable rumors about mermaids actually had some basis in fact. She had thought Mina's flirtatious behavior had been a one-off, but her fellow mermaids, though not as direct, were showing themselves to be very open about their interests. She knew Sanji would welcome such interest, but such a thing with his injuries could prove… bad.
"That's the Ghost Ship," Caribou muttered to himself, eyeing the female pirate from his hiding spot. "The first recorded Wood Fairy would certainly fetch a high price. And it's not like I didn't plan on taking all of the Straw Hats anyway. I suppose this is a great start."
"Alright, come on out!" Merry called, her voice echoing through Mermaid Cove. "We know you're here! Don't make me come looking for you!"
'She doesn't know where I am!' Caribou thought. 'I have quite a bit to do and need to be ready to leave fast if Hody actually manages to beat the Straw Hats, but I think I have some time for a game of Cat-and-Mouse with a cute little sheep. Kukuku!"
Waterwheel Town was known for one thing: its numerous waterwheels that provided hydroelectric power to the rest of the island. The island's needs were small in that vein compared to many other cultures via their use of corals that acted similar to the Dials of Skypia, but such things were not easy to come by. It was through the energy and factories of Waterwheel Town that such needed corals could be grown en mass. The electricity stimulated the growth of the corals and provided the energy for the compounds that made the corals do what they do. It was an engineering marvel of the generations of Fishmen past.
This history meant nothing to Dosun, however, the Hammerhead Fishman and his hammer smashing buildings, factories, and waterwheels without discrimination or hesitation. Had he been a mite smarter, he might have known such destruction would be counterproductive to the New Fishmen Pirates ruling the island should they succeed, but again, he did not care.
"Is that fun?"
Not for the first time, Dosun tried to ignore the question from the littlest hostage, this one kept in the arms of an Octopus Fishman so he could not wiggle free. Even so, they were unable to gag him, the boy having been able to bite through anything they tried to shut him up with. Seriously, what had those humans been feeding the kid? That he'd nearly taken a chunk out of the Octopus Fishman's tentacle when they tried that just made the kid seem feral.
"It looks like it could be fun," the boy continued, unsure yet uncaring if the pirates around him were actually listing. He was a curious child and he found that he learned the most by just talking to people. "Still, Mommy always sayed the only reasons you should hit a building is if you miss the guy in front of it or if you're going for the guy inside it. So either your aim sucks or you're looking for people." He paused to breathe, giving the fishmen a brief reprieve from the verbal onslaught. "Ne, Hammer Guy. Are you a bad guy?"
"Of course not, dosun," the hammerhead finally answered, rounding to glare at the child. Ace, for his part, didn't even flinch. "Humans have terrorized Fishman Island since before I was born, dosun. All humans are nothing but snakes waiting to bite you as soon as your turn your back with trust. That's why we're going to destroy the human-loving government we have now and put Captain Hody in charge, dosun."
"Oh… Oh, I get it, Ace," Ace nodded, not quite understanding all the bigger words in the explanation while also adding his name to the end like Dosun did, as if that would help him understand what the fishman was talking about. "We think you're bad, but you think Daddy and Mommy and the others are the bad ones, Ace. So we're both bad, but we're both good, too, Ace!"
"No!" Dosun countered, his hammer smashing some rubble for emphasis. "Humans are the bad ones, dosun! Now shut up and don't mock the way I talk, dosun!"
"Nu-uh! Mommy and Daddy are super good, Ace! They'd never be the bad ones, Ace!"
"You little bastard, dosun!" the hammerhead yelled, rounding on the child with his hammer raised. The Octopus Fishman holding the abducted boy let out a scream as he dove out of the way, taking his living cargo with him away from the area that the officer pulverized.
"Boss Dosun, please!" the octopus begged, doing his best to hide the laughing of the child in his arms. "You could have killed me too!"
"Gihihihi!" Ace continued to laugh, the sound similar to the animal of his family namesake. The pirates could not tell what it was he thought was funny; aggravating the boss, avoiding death by a hair's breadth, or some other childlike wonder that the adults had long-since forgotten. In true childhood whimsy, Ace offered no explanation believing that the fishmen around him already understood his own mirth, though not in so many words. "Gihihihi!"
The crowd of citizens the pirates had subjugated didn't seem to know how to take the byplay between officer and toddler, unsure if they could remain truly scared when the one in charge of destroying their livelihoods was simultaneously being insulted and undermined by a tiny human.
"Get going," another pirate growled, reminding said citizens that they had been corralled into a line to be forced to step on a photo of their late queen. No one had yet refused, either too afraid of Dosun's hammer and what it could do to a living body or unwilling to cause the baby that clearly did not belong to the New Fishman Pirates to see said effect. Traumatizing a child and giving up their lives just because they did not want to step on a photo of a beloved idol long passed was foolish. They were sure Otohime's spirit would forgive them.
"Hammer Guy!" Ace called just before Dosun could smash another waterwheel. "Hammer Guy!"
"What do you want, dosun?" the hammerhead demanded, his voice like gravel and layered with malice.
"I'm hungry, Hammer Guy."
"Why do you think I care, brat, dosun?"
"But that's how it works," Ace blinked, his eyes widening as if to emphasize his cuteness. "I tell the old guys I'm hungry and they give me food. You're an old guy, so give me food."
"I'm not old, dosun!" Dosun roared, his hand reflexively bringing his hammer down on one of the waterwheel's support beams. It snapped and splintered under the force, the waterwheel listing to the side as its wooden parts groaned in protest.
"Mommy says to not break things," Ace suggested, the pitch of his voice implying that such should have been obvious. "See, I broke dis train once and got real sad when it didn't work no more, and Mommy sayed it was 'cause I was too strong and rough on it. And when the old wizard guys Mommy worked with broke something, they got real sad 'cause it's harder to make things than to break them, 'cause when making things you gotta be real careful where everything goes. But when breaking things, you don't care where the pieces go, right? So stop breaking things 'cause the guys that do care and gotta put them together again are gonna have a lotta trouble!"
"You tell them, Ace!" a woman's voice cheered, turning attention to the sky where a woman with long orange hair and a young man with pink hair rode a large, yellow duck.
"Mommy!" Ace grinned, trying to wave only to remember that his arms were being held down. "Hi, Mommy! Hi, Uncle Coby! Hi, Billy!"
The young man and bird waved, the human more than the flying duck for obvious reasons.
"Sea Leopard!" Dosun roared, getting the attention of the cat-like fish monster that had been lounging nearby. It perked up at his voice, smart enough to know that not doing so would have painful consequences. "Eat them!"
"Graa!" the Sea Leopard yelled, lunging for the airborne trio. Nami pat the side of Billy's head before she and Coby hopped off, the two seeming to slide down an invisible surface to the ground. Now lightened of his riders, Billy rose higher into the air, leading the cat-fish on an aerial game of cat-and-bird with a secret, electrical ending.
A glance confirming that her mount could handle the overgrown Sea King and another seeing Coby ready to take on the cannon fodder, Nami turned back to Dosun and the subordinate holding her child captive. Her Clima-Tact spun in her hand, a cloud billowing from its end to form a dense fog that rolled over the streets with her and Coby at the origin.
"Now then," Nami stated, her tone providing no room for argument, "you better give me back my son, or I'm going to have to show you what happens when you make Mommy mad."
End of Chapter 14
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-SwordOfTheGods