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Chapter 28– Time Part Two.
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I couldn't just sit around and do nothing but twiddle my thumb and listen to orders and wait and hope for something that wouldn't happen. Nobody was coming to help, at least not anytime soon. So Nami's plan probably would not work, and unless we all want to stay like this, there is only one other option. Killing Arlong and all his buddies.
Of course, I had been trying for a while, but to no effect. When the poison and subtlety did not work, I reverted to the method I liked and appreciated most. Beautiful, brutal violence focused purely on destruction. Of course, while my preferred method, it was really like pushing a boulder up a mountain. But damn it, I was going to get the big hunk of rock to the precipice, and then I was going to drop it on Arlongs head.
Arlong was fine with me trying to kill him. In fact, he liked it. He appreciated the fact that I would try and kill him straight up and would allow me a time and place to have my shot, never once refusing me my chance. I would challenge him nearly every day and try to fight and beat him head-on.
Of course, just because I kept trying and he was letting me didn't mean I was getting anywhere. He was letting himself be attacked since it only meant the same was true for me, and I was fair game. Oh, and he made sure I knew it by beating my ass black and blue at every available opportunity. However, he also needed me for my skills and capability since it was always within reason, but he knew how to make it hurt without leaving any damage, or he learnt and got very good at it over the course of our battles.
Even with the brutal outcomes of every attempt, I never let it stop me. Every time I was beaten down, I would get back up and come back for more the next day. Day after day, week after week and eventually year after year, I would try and kill this man, and he would laugh in joy all the while at my attempts. But, of course, people can become bored of anything after a while and a lot of repetition, and that includes fishmen as well.
While I gave it my all and never let up, even after so many defeats, I believe Arlong just got more and more bored with it. Continually handing me my ass, while fun at first, must have become really dull after a while. So, I think in order for Arlong to liven it up some more and have some fun, he started to draw the battles out instead of kicking my ass straight away.
Like a cat plays with its food, Arlong began to fuck around with me and make it more enjoyable for himself. Where before, he would just straight up tank all my blows and laugh at my feeble attacks. Lately, he had begun to dodge and avoid all of my blows and hits, it made me think I was actually getting somewhere, and I was close to finally beating him.
He would avoid my strikes by just the thinnest of margins, and while, at first, I thought it was me getting better, eventually, I would figure out that it was him messing with me and using pure skill to avoid my blows with no wasted movements. Of course, when that got boring for him, he decided to take it even further and start letting my hits connect. The excitement that pulsed through my body when I hit him and he went flying backwards was terrific. Even when before they had not even managed to push him back, suddenly they could blast him backwards and send him shooting head over ass.
Needless to say, I was on cloud nine when these things were first occurring, and I felt like soon I would be free, and so would everybody else, that there was light at the end of the tunnel. But, of course, as is customary, this was taken away from me as well. Some of the Fishmen pirates saw me, and they must've been annoyed by the smile and joy I was feeling because they took measures to rectify that. Finally, one day, after one of my showdowns with Arlong, where we had both exchanged blows, and I had only lost by a bit of bad luck, they pulled me aside.
They laughed at me, asking if I truly believed that I was going to beat Arlong. I didn't click on it at first, but then they laid it out, plain and simple, for me. They said he was messing with me and letting me believe that I was actually getting somewhere. I thought about it and refused the notion, sure of what I was feeling with my fists and body, but they were adamant.
They had told me that he had decided to go along with it and let me actually believe I could maybe one day beat him, giving me some hope. They said it was because Arlong didn't want me to kill myself out of despair so that he wouldn't lose his skilled expert on all things woodworking and crafting. But, I will admit that it had introduced some doubt in me, and I had gone over everything in my mind with a fine tooth comb and had some problems with it.
But then I decided to fuck that and ignore it completely. So what if some of it was false, or even if all of it was. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that I keep trying. Nothing is impossible, and as long as I keep trying, then I can definitely do it. I have no time for doubt, especially not in this climate. Because I know that if it sets in, then that will be the end. I will be defeated and unable to ever free myself; I will give up.
That was not an option. So even with the things they told me, I kept on trying. Harder than ever, I brought my all and tried to kill him even more. The fact that he was actually having fun and making it more interesting for himself just served to piss me off instead of demoralising me. I was determined to make this fucker stop taking me lightly and start putting some effort into this shit. I am going to kick the long-nosed fuckers ass, even if it is the last thing I will ever do.
However, even after all this time, I remain at a stalemate. The same thing just carried on happening, with no change. No matter how much I trained and how much stronger I got, the battles would stay the same. He would mess around with me, still playing around. However, I know I am improving. The amount I can lift and the speed that I time when training. It has all improved over the years, and yet Arlong still continues to dodge me by just a little. But I am improving. That is a fact, and I will keep improving until my fist punches right through him and blood covers my fingers.
Of course, aside from helping Nojiko with her tangerine farm, maintaining Arlong Park and trying to kill Arlong on a daily basis, I have one other thing that I work on nearly every day. You see, I was fully maintaining every inch of Arlong Park since all of the other people capable of it were too afraid to approach the place, so I had to learn a lot of stuff and things I never knew before to do my work correctly.
Of course, being in charge of all that stuff, the idea of bringing it all down on their heads while they slept crossed my mind. However, Nami slept in that building when she was here, and I couldn't be sure that the thing wouldn't come down with her in it if I stopped maintaining the place properly. Plus, I have seen how strong and durable Arlong is, and that is not even mentioning his minions. So it wouldn't work and, at most, would bury him for a couple hours before he got out.
Anyway, back to what I was saying. I was learning a whole lot of new things to keep up with my new duties, and I was getting good at them fast. Arlong noticed. He inquired. He wanted to know how I knew these things, and when I told them that I was learning them now, he laughed. He was happy. Another genius, he said. Another prodigy he could make use of. I wasn't a genius. I was just a fast learner that could probably pick anything up. However, I probably wouldn't be an innovative master of my craft.
Arlong didn't care, he saw something, and he ran with it. He wanted to get the most use out of me. So he started bringing me all sorts of books on things he thought would be useful and chucked them at me, forcing me to learn all kinds of things so he could benefit from them. One thing I ended up focusing most of my energy on was weaponry. Arlong wanted to upgrade Arlong Park and make it more defensible and provide it with some weaponry facing out towards the ocean. I don't know why. He showed that he could efficiently deal with any attack from the sea. I guess he just doesn't want to use it unless necessary, to not play his hand too soon and keep it as a special move.
So, with Arlong wanting to add to the offensive qualities of his base and make Arlong Park into a veritable fortress. And to that effect, they wanted all the weaponry and cannons they could get their hands on put all over the place, and even more if they could have it made and installed. Obviously not familiar with this neck of the woods, what with this being the East Blue and them being from the Grand Line, they had tasked me with dealing with this.
Of course, I didn't know anything about it either, but they didn't give a crap, and so I was forced to do the job. I was limited to the island since I was not permitted off of it, and I talked to all the villagers I could to gain information. While none of the villagers had any experience with weapons manufacturing, they did know of a few places that did it off of the island. However, the places they knew of did work for the nearby marines, and so anything we commissioned off of them would obviously be suspect and raise some flags.
When I informed Arlong of this, I thought he would end up using his marine contact Captain Nezumi to push it under the rug or act as a middleman, but he didn't. Arlong instead acted very cautiously, not wanting to do anything that might lift some eyebrows more than he had already done. Instead, he foisted it off onto me. He saw my learning ability and thought that I was his solution. Why outsource your problems when you could solve them at home and keep it all private.
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He provided me with the books and told me to get any others I needed which he would fund, and that he would also provide me with any materials that I would need at my request. I was a bit confused why he was going to be so trusting, handing me such knowledge as well as the materials to make use of it. Then again, once more, as I stated before, he can tank cannonballs without a scratch. He obviously doesn't feel threatened even with handing me such things. Why would he? Any weaponry I could make would really have no effect on him.
And so, with the books on hand, I started to learn all I could to fulfil my new job. With the books teaching me and the fact that I am a very fast learner, I quickly began to evolve my craft. I learnt all I could to the point of manufacturing my own weaponry and cannons. I knew exactly how to do that. All the inns and outs, I knew, and all I had to do now was start actually making them.
When I told Arlong that, he only permitted me to make cannons and cannonballs for his base, and that was all. He made sure to punctuate his order with a threat that if anybody were to be found with any weapons or guns on the island, including me, there would be dire consequences. The villagers would be killed along with their village being punished, and he said something worse would be in store for me.
I don't know why he didn't want guns to be manufactured when he could take a cannonball head-on, but I think perhaps it was because he didn't want a rebellion or something. As much as he hated the humans on the island, they were still the source of all his money, and so if he started culling them, then that would mean less profit for him overall. I am guessing he doesn't want guns around because then they would have the courage to fight, which means he would have to kill quite a lot of them to break that spirit.
Anyway, weapon manufacturing didn't quite go as easily as I thought it would when I started to experiment. Even if I had the technical knowledge, my practical knowledge was not up to scratch, and so there was a fair bit of trial and error until I started producing results. And even then, I was not getting the amount needed to be done, and so I had to do a little outsourcing of my own, strictly limited to the island, of course.
So, in order to help with the manufacturing of the cannons and other weaponry, I enlisted the help of some blacksmiths and workers on the island. Anybody that was willing, I took on to help me make this stuff, and eventually, we had made all the weaponry and installed it all at Arlong Park, giving it some defensive capabilities. I thought that would be it, and we would all be going back to life as usual now that Arlong had gotten what he wanted, but that was not the case.
Like a shark in the water smelling blood, Arlong caught opportunity on the horizon, and he struck. We had manufactured weapons entirely on the island and secretly, with materials coming in and no one keeping track of them. Arlong saw the capability and decided on a new business venture. I am not too sure what happened, but we were ordered to keep working on stuff, and Arlong disappeared for a bit before coming back very happy.
Arlong had never left the island before, and so I obviously had to consider my options now that he had gone all of a sudden. But, of course, he had left his crew behind, and he didn't mention it or anything, and neither did his crew, but given my close proximity to them all, it was easy for me to notice. I could have maybe put up a fight and taken out some of his crew, but there would have been some casualties, and I am not sure I could take all of them together. So I decided it was better to not do anything since Arlong would come back, and I still could not kill him, and he would be wrathful if some of his friends were dead.
He came back not long after, having swum wherever it was he was going very fast and then coming back. I felt very much like I missed an opportunity when he came back with a big smile on her face, and I had a feeling that things would get worse. They quickly did when Arlong relayed his next orders. He called me up to talk with him soon after he got back.
It was then that I learnt we would be making weapons to be sold in the underworld. Apparently, Arlong had managed to get in contact with some old pirate crews he knew, humans, even though he was loathed to do so, and he managed to get a deal going with some guy called Joker, who would be buying up the weapons.
I don't know much of what deal he had going on with this guy, but Hachi and Chew would take MohMoo out every month or so to deliver what we are now being ordered to make. That being cannons, weaponry, swords and everything else in between. If it was used for violence and combat, then yeah, we were told to make it so Arlong could sell it.
And so I was forced to tell all of those workers to get back to work, and I also explained to Arlong that they would have to be given some concessions to actually work and to produce the amount he wanted. Arlong, devious bastard that he was made a new deal for them. However many weapons they could make each month would be knocked off of the tax they would have to pay each month. He had them working commission and was selling the result of their hard work and then even charging them what they did earn.
Thankfully, there were enough workers on the island that they all got separate shifts and spread the work out so they could also do their other jobs as well. Unfortunately, however, there were quite a lot of them that would be working through the night as well. Arlong, the clever piece of shit, made a twenty-four-seven weapon production system and was making literal gold off of it, off of us. And there was nothing that we could do about it. So we were stuck with it.
However, our new duties did open up some new avenues for us. Well, for those of us willing to risk it, which was basically just me. You see, I was the expert on the island when it came to all this crap, so Arlong was giving me nearly total control over it. He relied on me to order the materials and then oversee the process of turning it all into weaponry. Actually, I didn't order the materials but more specified about what we needed and then Arlong's contact or whoever would bring it. I am not too sure, he never was too open about that in particular, and he always made his calls on the Den Den Mushi in private whenever he had to.
Anyway, with me having such a position, I was able to order more than necessary and squirrel away some of the materials. Of course, only a small amount at a time, just in case Arlong ever clicked on and took a closer look. For some stupid reason, it brought up a memory of a tv show from my past self's life called The Office. A scene where the boss is having a surplus explained to him by his accountant.
Imagine you are five years old, and your mommy and daddy have given you ten dollars to run a lemonade stand, but you go out and get everything done only using nine dollars. Now, you can go and give that extra dollar back to Mommy and Daddy, but guess what. Next year? I will be six. Yes, but when you try and run the lemonade stand again, they will only give you nine dollars because that is how much it costs to run.
It is stupid how my brain works, but that was essentially the situation I was in. I was asking for a certain amount of materials from Arlong, more than I needed. And if he found that out, then I would be in trouble and only given what is strictly necessary for me to make the weapons. This is why I can't change the material amount I have requested since that would be suspicious as we were producing the same amount each month unless told otherwise, or we were running low.
It wasn't enough at the beginning, but over time it built up and became an amount that I could work with and experiment with. Because one facet of my past life that I was now very focused on was the advancements in weaponry and ammunition, which was way more developed than the flintlocks and rifles we had here. The heights of inane human weaponry from my past life were right there, and I had the vision and knowledge to bring it to this world and give myself a leg up. Arlong isn't susceptible to this world level of warfare, but maybe he is to another world. If something ain't dying, then you haven't shot it enough.
Of course, which I am saying a lot now, things were not as easy as I thought they would be. Primarily because while my past self had known about and seen such weaponry in movies, he had no clue on exactly how they worked. As for myself, I was only knowledgeable on weaponry from this world, and so it was hard for me to figure out something so advanced. Still, the concepts were the same though the rate of fire and damage were night and day. So, once again, trial and error came into effect, but knowing what I wanted, I was continuously improving.
I had made some guns though they were not on the level of what I wanted. Still, I was definitely getting there. I was building up my stock. However, I couldn't give them to any of the villagers in case any of them got trigger-happy and fired off a couple shots ruining what I had going on. However, I did slip a rifle to Genzo, knowing he could be trusted. I had gotten to know the man very well over the last couple of years, given how much he tried to look after the two sisters and how much he tried to keep his eye on me like I was up to something.
Genzo didn't say anything when I gave him the weapon, and he keeps it hidden, and I know he will only ever use it when it actually needs to be used. So I trust him with it, just like he trusts me when it comes to Nami and Nojiko, however begrudgingly. As for myself, I had made a couple, but I had a favourite. I had made a six-shooter, designed like a Colt Python, which was my favourite so far. Given my new relationship with guns, I had started to train with them and tried to keep it under wraps.
It was not possible, and while I had improved amazingly when it came to my aim and accuracy, I was eventually found out. Arlong found out since I was firing shots off whenever I tried, even with the makeshift silencer I was fabricating. However, it only really limited the noise instead of silencing it completely. So yeah, Arlong strolled up to my training area in the secluded woods one day, and I was caught with my pants down.
However, instead of being angry or something like I thought he would be, he didn't actually punish me. Well, he gave me a beating, but I was already used to those. No, he thought that I would not be able to do anything with it, assured of his Fishman superiority, and for all he knew, all I had was that little peashooter.
Thankfully Arlong didn't know anything about weapons even though he was selling them, so he did not realise my gun was a one-of-a-kind, never before seen in this world. I think it is, at least. However, he did make sure to reiterate his threats if any guns found their way to the population since it was also my job to make sure none of the villagers stole any at work.
So henceforth, no one really questioned the gunshots coming from the woods if they heard them, which allowed me to get a lot more practice in, shooting targets, swinging logs and animals and birds to train myself up. I continued my work, mainly theorising and drawing blueprints and plans for weaponry that I still needed to get the material to build. I was working up to a weapon that could kill Arlong without killing everybody else on the island. It is a work in progress.
But for now, Nami is back, and I need to go home. Nojiko likes to make a big welcome feast whenever Nami comes back since all of the villagers treat her bad for some reason, even though they care about her. Whatever, I don't know why those idiots do what they do.
I wonder what Nojiko is cooking today?