Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 36- Brave Warrior.
----------------------------------------
"...huh? Usopp?" I hear the Fishmen talk to each other, confused. "Never heard of him..." They say, trying to peer up at him to see if they recognise him. For a guy who apparently has a five thousand-man army, to not have a bounty is weird. Anybody who has such a fleet would have a bounty, and other pirates would keep an eye out. Meaning that Usopp is definitely a liar. He doesn't command that many men. Still, fear tactics could work... sometimes.
"It's him..!" I hear Nojiko beside me, and I almost face-palm at the admission. I can only thank my lucky stars that she wasn't that loud and nobody heard her, too focused on the man on the roof.
"Who is that!?" I hear the villagers wonder. Well, I know already. Captain Usopp, the liar and the brave. The man with four... legs. Four legs? Why does he look like he has four legs? Oh, he doesn't. His legs are just shaking so fast that they are superimposing (I think that's the word) and making the illusion that he had four. To put it simply, he is scared as shit. And yet he still attacked Arlong. He is a coward and a liar, but I can't say I dislike him.
"Feared by the entire world as the man from hell, they call me Usopp, The Wicked Devil King!" Usopp shouts aloud for all to hear, sweat pouring off of him, and his eyes are bloodshot behind his goggles, but he continues on anyway. "I have eight thousand subordinates at my command! Flee at once, and I shall consider forgiving you!" Oh, shit. It has grown from five thousand to eight thousand in the last couple of hours. Usopp has been busy recruiting, hasn't he?
"!" One of the Fishmen, a big burly one, suddenly has a look of realisation and points his finger at Usopp with a sound of surprise. "Arlong, it's him! He's that guy I told you about earlier who escaped from me!" The burly Fishman shouts, a look of anger on his face.
"I don't care if you've got tens of thousands of followers..." Arlong begins, not paying any heed to his crewmate's words. He doesn't care right now. He only has eyes for the human on top of the house. "Just try me! I'll crush every single one of them!" He declares, smoke wafting off of his form and gritting his teeth, staring down at the ground in anger.
Looking up at Usopp, I can see his face take a drastic turn. Over the years, I have developed a high perception, having to act cautiously under the Fishmen and reading their behaviour and actions. Looking at Usopp's panicked face right now, I feel like I can tell what he is thinking. Probably something along the lines of 'Aghhh! He's not scared at all, and my Gunpowder Star didn't work at all!'. After all, this is the first time he has faced a Fishman properly.
"Even though you are just a puny human...!" Arlong's ominous voice sounds out, and everybody shuts up. They can feel the deadliness in the air, and we all know that Arlong is enraged more than ever before. I have never seen him this angry before. I mean, I thought I had, but now... Clearly, I have never truly pissed him off. If anything, he treated me like a puppy that playfully bit him. This is completely different,
"Lowly human scum!" Arlong barks, his pupils insanely small and his shark teeth massive. "You dare attack me!" Everybody is pretty much shaking now, even his own men. It is only my training that allows me to stay steadfast under his terror.
"!!!" And then everybody freaks the fuck out as Arlong moves fast and is suddenly at the base of the building Arlong is in, and then his arms shoot forward to dig into the sides of the house. And then, with a roaring groan, he lifts the two-story house right off of the ground, the wood breaking in numerous places.
"Aghhhhhh!" Captain Usopp screams, clutching onto the edge of the roof with all of his might, his feet dangling in the air.
"A-Arlong, wait! You're not going to destroy another village, are you?" Surprisingly, it is the Fishman's own crew that starts to get worried and voice their concerns. "Human villages are easy to crush, but our goal is to rule over them!" They try to remind Arlong, who is too lost in his rage.
"If we turn this town into another Gosa Village, then our tribute funds will decrease again." They try to persuade him, but Arlong isn't having any of it. "If our funds decrease, then all we have to do is conquer another village!" Arlogn shouts, and technically, he is right. It wouldn't be hard for them. They are capable of that, at least here in the East Blue. As long as Nezumi keeps covering up their business.
"We are the supreme beings!"Arlong screams, hefting the building up and sideways onto his shoulders.
"Our village is..!" The villagers panic as they see one of the buildings be picked up like a toy. And then he launches it at another building.
"He's..!" Nojiko screams.
"Crap!!!" Usopp starts to shriek. "He's gonna kill me!" His face is ugly as he clutches onto the building with all of his might, his nails screeching against and digging into the wood. "He's gonna kill me!" I can see the snot of tears running down his face. But he is a survivor. Just before the building crashes, he leaps and somehow avoids all of the fallout.
"He's still alive!" A Fishman shouts as Usopp scrambles to his feet on the floor and then immediately starts running away. "After him! Don't let him escape!" They all start shouting.
"Aghh!" Usopp screams, having heard their cries.
"Catch him and kill him!" Arlong barks, his eyes blank and his teeth bared. There are veins popping out all over his body as he roars like an animal. He is nothing more than a monstrous beast right now, ruled by his rage. His own crewmates are having to hold him back, and surprisingly, Arlong is letting them. If there is one thing I know about Arlong, it is that he genuinely cares about his Fishmen crewmates. He is subconsciously holding back against them.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
"Let's return to Arlong Park for now!" One of the Fishmen holding him back says to the other. "At this rate, he's going to annihilate this entire village!" They are both straining incredibly, keeping Arlong back, but then the rest get together and start to shuffle him slowly back towards Arlong Park.
"We'll be back." Kuroobi turns around and says, a smirk on his face. "But it looks like you all have managed to live another day. congratulations." He says sardonically before leaving with the rest of his brethren.
"AGHHHHHHHHH!" I hear a piercing scream and turn towards it, only to see Usopp rushing by doing a proper professional sprint, teras and snot trailing behind him.
"Hey, you! Wait right there!" Also trailing behind him and trying to weather the storm of human liquid are some low-rung Fishmen who are chasing after him.
"Certain Kill... Egg Star! (Hissatsu... Tamago Boshi!)" Suddenly, Usopp spins around and shoots something at the Fishmen following him, who stalls, thinking that it is something dangerous.
"Ugh!" One splutters as it hits him in the face. "Guh!" He starts to spit something out of his mouth, his face full of disgust. "Ugh, it reeks! This egg is rotten!" Oh, so he actually shot an egg at them and said a special name while doing so. And a rotten one at that, what a devious guy.
"D-Did it work..?" Usopp stops, catching his breath. "You bastard!" Did he seriously think that it would work?
"AGHHHHH!" Usopp screams one more as he breaks off into a sprint, leaving our sight quickly, the Fishmen running off after him.
"Gen, we need to get you treated." With all the nuisances gone, the villagers turn towards Genzo.
"No, I'm fine. I can manage on my own. Sorry for all the trouble I've caused everyone." Genzo says, apologising for what he did, even though he was prepared to take the punishment for it.
"Next time, Genzo, if you want to hide some weapons, give them to me. Don't make problems here. We are teetering on the edge as it is." I speak up, confronting the man. The surrounding villagers quickly defend him.
"What are you talking about? Genzo is not the one at fault here." They defend him. "That's right. As if anybody could abide by all of their irrational rules!" They say as if that exonerates him somehow. I can see Genzo himself cringe at that.
"There is somehow his abiding by their rules, more so than any one of us. Even harsher rules. And it is all for us." I say, and they all quiet down after that. Genzo looks very ashamed. I don't blame the man since I am basically doing the same thing, waiting for the day. But he could have been subtle about it and hide his shit better.
"But who was that guy earlier..." A villager changes the subject, not wanting to talk about that.
"Do you know him, Gen?" They ask him since Usopp did come to his rescue.
"No... Can't say I do..." He shakes his head no. I don't say anything about Usopp, and neither does Nojiko. We don't need the trouble that comes with it, and while I hope Usopp makes it to a boat and escapes, most likely, that dude is going to get beaten to death. A shame, I only knew him for five minutes, and he was a cool dude.
"Long time no see, everyone." We hear a voice behind us, and we all turn around to see who it is. It was Nami. She had a slight smile on her face. The villager's faces all turn to frowns, and they all go silent.
"Nami..." Nojiko says.
"Na-Chan..." Genzo mutters. Meanwhile, everybody else, including myself, stays silent. However me, Nojiko and Genzo are the only ones who keep our eyes on her as all of the rest of the villagers turn away and start ignoring her. The smile leaves, a small frown taking its place as she looks at everybody. She continues walking through the town, and I take notice of the bouquet of flowers that hangs down from her hand.
"What is it?" Nojiko says, with a smile on her face. "To think that you, of all people, would decide to stroll through the middle of town..." She questions, which is fair. Nami would usually avoid the villagers like the plague and to walk through the town with a smile on her face and call out to them? Something is different.
"Oh, nothing, just curious what all the ruckus I heard I heard was about." Nami deflects, then looks around at the crashed and destroyed houses. "Guess it was Arlong..." She surmises correctly. Genzo quickly turns away and stares at the ground with a frown. Nami moves on towards our home.
----------------------------------------
We are now on the edge of a cliff, where the grave of Bellemere rests. Nami is sitting cross-legged in front of it, talking to her mother. Nojiko is standing beside her while I rest against a tree further back, giving them their privacy. Well, the illusion of privacy since I can still hear everything.
"Only seven million berries left..." She finishes. Huh, really? I guess it won't be long until I have a final showdown with Arlong. What happened today changes nothing. I already knew how strong he was. I had just never seen him in a blind rage before. I could probably even use it to my advantage.
"You are as infamous as ever," Nojiko says to Nami with a smile on her face.
"Well, I am a pirate. But Arlong knows what's what." Nami says happily, her smile slowly getting bigger. "He knows money can get anything done. So it will only be a little more until his promise!" She says, seeing hope on the horizon. Meanwhile, all I can see is the end of this false peace and the beginning of a fight.
"No matter what, I am going to raise one hundred million Berry so I can buy this village!" Nami says, a massive grin on her face. I can't bring myself to remove it and tell her what will most likely happen.
----------------------------------------
"Even if she tells me to leave," A voice sounds out in the middle of Arlong Park.
"I don't have anything to do outside of here..." There are numerous fishmen laid out on the ground, multiple slashes covering them, and blood seeping out onto the floor.
"After all, I promised Luffy to bring her back..." Right in the middle of it all is a green-haired swordsman lying back on Arlong's throne with his hands crossed behind his head and his legs thrown over the side,
"Jeez..." He mutters, a bored look on his face. "Seem like I have gotten myself tied up in a complicated mess..." He complains, but a small smile appears on his face.
"Doo doo dah doo!" Some horrible singing suddenly rings through the air. Outside of Arlong Park's main entrance, the water entrance which all of the Fishmen use, was Hachi, the octopus Fishman, holding three different fishing rods with his multiple arms.
"Looks like it's about time!" He says, suddenly standing up and wrapping a hand around his horn-like mouth. "Momoo! Time for your meal!" He calls and then lets out a large humming noise, calling the sea beast for dinner.
"Bupapapa!" Can be heard in the far distance beneath the waves of water.
"Huh? What's that trumpet noise I heard just now...?" Zoro wonders, perking up from his seat on Arlong's throne.
"That's strange..." Hachi says, scratching his head with two left hands. "What's with him?" He says, puzzled.
"Roasted pig should be his favourite! Maybe he already had his meal..?" He hefts up a massive roasted pig impaled on a stick. "Well, I will just eat this then!" He decides since the pet sea beast did not show up.
"Was that... you how blew the trumpet just now?" Suddenly, Zoro's head pops up over the wall, and he questions the multiple-armed Fishman.
"Nyu!" Hachi lets out a weird sound of surprise.
"W-Who are you!? Who, me? I'm Hacchan!" He starts to blubber. "You can call me Hachi!" But ultimately, he is the nicest out of all of the Fishmen, and so he starts to be friendly with the green-haired man.
So you are a Fishman, too?" Zoro questions, his hand resting upon the hilt of his sword behind the wall.
"Yup, yup! I am a charming Octopus Fishman!" Hachi says proudly, his multiple limbs dancing hypnotically in the air. "I feel like I have seen you before..! Are you with the Marines? Or are you a guest?" Hachi asks. While Hachi is the nicest Fishman, he is also the dumbest. One could probably say that the two are synonymous.
"Guest?" Zoro's hand leaves the hilt of his sword. "Yeah... I am probably more of a guest." He decides, looking down at the Fishman with bemusement.
"But you know, Arlong's not here right now," Hach informs.
"Yeah, he's not. Where did he go?" Zoro asks, a murderous gleam in his eyes that Hachi doesn't catch.
"It seems that this long-nosed intruder got away from us. We already have one of his companions tied up here." Hachi says, raising multiple pointer fingers in the air. He doesn't realise that said companion is talking to him right now. "But Arlong went into Cocoyashi village to catch the other human!" He reveals his captain's movements effortlessly.
"Must be Usopp... Well, I guess I will go save him in the meanwhile..." Zoro muses. "How can I get to that village?" He asks, deciding to go save his cowardly crewmate.
"Get on! You are a guest, aren't you? I will give you a lift!" Hachi declares, pointing at a large pot with a rope tied to it floating in the ocean. Zoro doesn't see anything wrong with it and quickly hops in.