Disclaimer: I do not own anything aside from my OC and his world. One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.

AN: This story is still alive, surprise, surprise. I was browsing through my old stories and found this draft sitting there, which led me to finish writing this. Enjoy!

**Formerly MangaFreak3, I have decided to use another pen name now. Silken Moon

CHAPTER 4

With Zoro and the other, by the time they arrived at Arlong's Park, the fishman in question had already left the area, leaving behind only the small fries, which Zoro made quick work out of it. He was, of course, disappointed when there wasn't that much of a challenge.

Meanwhile, Niijima and Usopp were in quiet a pinch. With the plump-lipped fishman taken care off, it seemed to attract the attention of the other fishman when the former failed to return.

"Usopp-kun, go to Arlong's Park. If anything, you will most likely find Zoro there. Hurry, before Arlong headed back to his base. We need to wait for Luffy and the other to arrive first. It's too risky to go against them right now when our force are so scattered." Niijima hastily ushered for Usopp to leave while the man himself would provide a distraction.

In his mind, he deducted that the landmark would be their final destination. It was the most likely place for Zoro to be, which is why he sent Usopp there first. Especially when Arlong was away from base, the fighting power there would be tremendously weakened. With Usopp's agility and resourcefulness, Niijima had a lot of confident that Usopp would be able to navigate there without attracting too much attention.

"But, Niijima-san!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Niijima shook his head and looked at the boy with a stern gaze. "Captain will be here soon, so at the very least, you must hold on until then."

Usopp looked at the man for bit as worried color his eyes. Steeling his resolve, he gritted his teeth and gave a firm nod. "You're right. We still have Luffy!"

"Exactly. Now go. I'll handle things here. Be careful!"

With no time to waste, Usopp dashed off to the opposite direction from Niijima, who deliberately went into the fishman's sight.

It appeared to be a pale looking fishman with fin attached to his arm. He dressed in a deep blue karate-gi, and his hair was tied into two stub at each side of his head, giving off the illusion of crab's eyes. He also had a long ponytail at the back of his head.

"Were you the one who hurt Choo?" He growled and bared his sharp teeth at Niijima, who shrugged and adopted a lazy smile.

"Possibly. What is it to you?" Niijima purposely provoked. He usually didn't speak like this, being such a hooligans instead of a civilized person. However, the situation at hand didn't allow him to be a gentleman.

After all, the more wound up the fishman was, the less likely he would notice Usopp's slipping away from the scene. Besides, it also had the added bonus of increasing their risk of making mistakes. From experience, angry opponents were more likely to slip up.

There was also another purpose to saying that. From his previous fight, Choo was a long range fighter, which came as a huge surprise to Niijima, who thought that fishman was only strong physically. From this new fishman's appearance, it was unlikely that he would be a range fighter as well, but Niijima wasn't sure. To foolishly show one's hand while the opponent had yet to show there was a beginner mistake. No matter how weak his opponent appeared to be, Niijima would never make the mistake of underestimating his opponent. In his line of work, the most mundane object could potentially be the most malicious spirits in the world. He remained silent and waited patiently for the fishman to act first. He had confident that his words would be able to rouse the desired emotion from the fishman.

True enough, the fishman fell for Niijima trick and immediately rushed at him at breakneck speed. The tentacles behind his head sway wildly as he sprinted. "Damn you. I'll kill you!"

There were two way to view this opening move. Either the fishman was severely underestimating Niijima, or it was his usual fighting style. The former would imply that the fishman simply wanted to crush Niijima using brute force as opposed to techniques. The latter implied that he was a fishman who practice the melee art. Judging from the fins on his arms, Niijima judged him to be the latter.

From what he had seen in the previous fight, Choo had a distinct set of lips that allowed him to shoot out water. This meant that the fishman could utilize their body trait to its fullest and the fins highly suggested that they were meant to be used in melee range. Most likely, he must be a manta ray fishman.

All of that went through Niijima's head within a split second as he quickly leaped back and sent forth a torrent of paper birds. They twisted into lance of paper and spiraled through the air toward the approaching fishman.

Seeing the birds, the fishman was surprised but he immediately swatted the birds away. Little did he know, that was only a distraction for the true spell work. The fishman reached Niijima, who just landed, and swung his fists at him. The tentacles on his hand briefly sparked that imitated the sparkles of fire.

The fishman was expecting Niijima to scream in pain but he was shocked when Niijima exploded into a cloud of talisman that quickly shifted to a rain of swords.

"Curse Art: Dream of Swords." Niijima murmured.

It was the same move that was used to defeat Jango, but it didn't seem to be effecting the fishman. The fishman narrowed his eyes and twirled his body. The movement was quick and precise and all the swords that came flying at him was deflected away like rock against a shield. Dream of Swords, as a spell, was one that relied on the opponent's mindset. If they have a strong will, such a beginner curse would not work.

Not one to waste resource, Niijima quickly converted the falling swords into another spell. The talisman that fell onto the ground pulsed briefly as deep purple aura erupted from them. The aura coagulated into a thick shadowy oval beneath the fishman's feet. It seemed to be absorbed by the fishman and he slowed tremendously.

"What?" The fishman struggled briefly against the spell work when he felt a great resistance against his limps. As if someone was dragging him against the direction he was heading toward to.

Without even waiting for the fishman to reorient himself, Niijima took out another piece of talisman. It burst into purple flame as it soared across the air.

Seeing the incoming projectile, the fishman immediately brought up his hand to guard against the attack. Rather than exploding, the talisman stuck to his hand and the fishman was momentarily confused. The talisman reacted differently than the first two attacks and it threw him off immediately. He immediately tried to take the talisman off but Niijima was faster.

"Drain!" Niijima shouted and made a hand sign. He sliced his arm upward, as if he was yanking something out of the fishman.

A pale transparent purple orb was yanked from the fishman in an arc toward Niijima's hand. As if his energy was drained, the fishman collapsed onto his knees and pushed both arms outward to support his weight.

Panting, the fishman growled. "You bastard! What did you do to me!?" If look could kill, Niijima would have died from the pure hatred found in the fishman's gaze.

Perhaps it was a mixture of humiliation and helplessness, Niijima wasn't sure, the fishman was extremely agitated. If Niijima was within the fishman's range, he was sure he would have died already. Unfortunately for the fishman, Niijima had no intention of doing that. Even when his opponent was weakened in his current state, Niijima kept his distant and only observed from afar.

The ethereal orb in his hand pulsed briefly before shattered into a shimmering mist that quickly covered Niijima's body. When the mist dissipated, Niijima appeared a lot more refreshed. Drain was a move that converted the opponent's stamina into something that could then be transferred to the user's ally or the user themselves. While mainly used as a recovering spell, it had its usage when it came to immobilizing the opponent. Especially when it was used in conjunction with Shadow Grasp, Niijima had every intention to make sure the fishman stayed down. The first spell was to slow the fishman's down by exerting force opposite from his momentum. The second spell ensure he lacked the energy to fight against the first spell. It was efficiency at its finest.

"Why don't you fight me fair and square!?"

"You talk too much." Niijima silent the fishman as he murmured another spell. The talisman on the fishman's arm hummed briefly before the fishman dropped into a deep sleep.

The entire fight had been very anti-climatic. With Niijima achieving victory without a single wound on him, and having the bonus stamina boost from his spell, he immediately headed back to Cocayashi village. In his mind, he was praying that the fishmen would still be there because that would mean Usopp would be safe.

On the way there, however, his heart dropped when he realized the fishmen were no longer there.

"Shit! Usopp!" Niijima had never felt so anxious in his entire life. He had made a slight miscalculation with his decision and now Usopp had a very high risk of encountering danger. However, he also held onto the hope that he would rendezvous with Zoro and the two of them could battle it out.

He immediately rushed off toward Arlong's Park but he froze when he saw a familiar straw hat in the distant.

"No way! It couldn't be!" His voice picked up in sound and he hollered when he ascertain who it was.

"Captain!"

Hearing his name being called, Luffy turned around and lit up when he saw Niijima.

"Ah! Ossan!"

Dashing up to him, Niijima breathed, "Thank goodness you made it. Quick, we need to find Usopp! He maybe in danger right now!"

"Eh? Usopp? He's with us right now."

"Then, where is he?"

"With Zoro and the other."

Hearing that, Niijima released a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. "Thanks goodness."

"Oh, what's that!?" Luffy excited voice snapped Niijima away from his musing.

Their sights set onto a man with a black captain hat that had a pinwheel on it. Niijima had seen this man before, when Usopp shot at Arlong. Luffy's next words caused Niijima to almost trip.

"Why does he have a pinwheel on his head?" The expression the boy made at the time was a cross between constipation and of unfiltered interest.

"That's all you care about?" Niijima couldn't help but commented. He was more interested in the group of men in white behind the pinwheel man. The outfit appeared to be a uniform of some sort of organization.

The leader of the group had a funny looking hoodie on that resembled a cat. At the top of the hoodie, there was a sign that said "Marine." Ever since Niijima encountered Fullbody at the Baratie, his opinion of the Marine was not on the good side. Adding onto the fact that the man that Usopp saved was so tense, Niijima had a feeling that trouble would come soon.

His feeling was confirmed when the familiar sight of Belle-mere floated into view. She was shouting and cursing at the marine like they had killed her children.

"Damn fucking bastard! How dare they call themselves marine!?" She was fuming and if it wasn't for her current status, Niijima was sure that Belle-mere would have given those men a piece of her mind.

With Luffy so close to him, Niijima didn't comment on it.

"Hey you! Go help out my daughter. You are her crew mate, aren't you?" She redirected her frustration at Niijima and hovered aggressively in front of him.

Niijima sighed and glanced at Luffy, who was still trying to figure out why the man had a pinwheel on his head. The captain appeared to be content with just observing for now. Pestered by the incessant whining and out of his concern for Nami, Niijima excused himself from Luffy.

Soon, he was led by the ghost into the tangerine forest.

"Quick, you need to stop them from digging up the treasures."

Niijima got there just in time to get an idea of what was going on. Apparently, the marine was there to confiscate all her stolen good. Granted, something obviously didn't add up here. With Arlong's control over the island and the fishmen guarding the sea, how could the marine just show up blatantly like so without angering Arlong?

There could only be one outcome and Belle-mere's reaction just confirmed it.

"Where did she hide her treasure?" He stated curtly and the ghost showed him the exact location. It was buried among the tangerine trees.

He took out a talisman and pasted it over the dirt where the ghost said the treasure was. Murmuring a spell, he cast a light illusion over it and in its place, there was an extra row of tangerine trees that ran parallel to the others.

He figured, the marine wouldn't dig under a tree because physics dictate that treasure couldn't be buried directly beneath a tree root. If anything, they would only dig at the vicinity near the tree root but never under it.

Footsteps soon reached his ears. Acting quickly, the onmyouji hid inside the illusion of the tangerine groves that he had created. Although this was an illusion, if he did anything to attract their attention, the illusion could still be broken. Not wanting that to happen, he remained still and observed the rat-like man barking out orders for the marine to dig.

They were vicious and thorough, leaving nothing unexplored. Yet, to their dismay, they didn't find anything. With no other option, they were forced to leave with an extremely disgruntled expression. This little failure would sure to drive a wedge between the marine and Arlong. He just only hoped that it was enough for things to be worthwhile.

While he was hiding in the grove, unknown to him, a huge ruckus was happening outside. It started with Nami having discovered the conflict and the way the marines had so blatantly showed their obvious corruption. She had went to reason with Arlong, to demand an answer for this breach of agreement between them. Only, for her to come back empty handed, and completely heartbroken. Even so, she remained strong. Putting on a facade so that the villagers wouldn't go against Arlong.

She tried to convince the town folks that everything would be alright. But who would have thought that instead of backing down, the villagers were extremely displeased by the oppression. Having seen the marine conspiring with the Arlong's pirate, that was the last straw that broke the camel's back. She could only watch in shock and despair at the villagers marched toward their death.

As she cried in distraught, she could only turn to her captain for help. And that was all Luffy needed, to march off toward along side Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp toward Arlong's Park.

A shadow fell over her. She glanced up in confusion and her watery eyes locked onto the familiar face of Niijima. Rather, there was something off about the way the man held himself. He held a rifle over his shoulder in a pose that was strangely nostalgic to look at.

"Nami." He called and it was different than how would usually call her.

"Niijima...san?" Nami muttered.

She was unprepared when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her in a comforting hug.

"Niijima-san!?"

It happened just for a split moment, way too fast for her to react. Before she knew it, Niijima had already released her. "Let's get that wound bandage first."

Niijima smiled at her and hauled her up. Before long, they were back inside her house. Niijima led her to take a seat by the table before he went to look for some bandages and needles.

"It's over ther-" The words died in her mouth before she could finish when Niijima opened the cabinets where they store their first aid kit.

The action from the man suggested that he knew this house like the back of his hand. The first aid kit is propped over the able and the man began treating the self-inflicted wound on Nami's bicep. He didn't take a long time treating it since they were pressed on time. Rather, the wound was quickly dressed and bandaged after ensuring that there wasn't any dirt that could cause an infection.

When all is done, Niijima put the kit away.

"Nami, you have done more than enough." Niijima said as he went near the door.

Hauling the rifle over his shoulder, he flashed a smile at Nami and left the house.

"It's the adult's turn to clean up."

Nami was able to catch onto what Niijima had said before the man disappeared down the road that Luffy had walked a moment before. His gait was that of confident and domineering. For a moment, a preposterous thought zipped through her head.

Her mouth parted unconsciously, "Belle-mere?"

Flash back to moment before.

"How dare that fish face son of a bitch made my daughters cry!? Did you see that rat? He fucking shot Nojiko!"

Poor Niijima, being the only one that she could interact with, was almost choked to death when she grabbed his collar and shook him to vent her frustration.

"Ok, ok! Stop." He grabbed her hand in an attempt to stabilize himself. "I get it. I get it! Fish face bastard need to die. Got it."

"Now stop shaking me!" He wrung himself away from her grasp.

"Ugh! If only I can smack those sons of bitches!" She growled as her fingers twitched over her rifle. Then, her eyes sparked when they landed on him.

Something told Niijima he should avoid that gaze. He shuffled himself back a good distance away from the raving woman but it was no use. Her next word left him speechless.

"You, lend me your body."

"What the hell!?" Niijima defensively raised his arms to block the woman from getting any closer to his body. "How the hell did you even get that idea!?"

"I'm a ghost, right? So I can possess people! Let me possess your body for a moment!"

"N-Now, why don't we calm down?"

"No. Any time spent talking is time wasted when I could be shooting down those bastards."

"Look! I'm a male! Won't that make you feel awkward!?"

"Awkward or not, how am I supposed to know if I hadn't tried it?"

"And I'm telling you, you don't need to try it!"

"And why not? You are her crew mate, aren't you? It's only fair that you help out her mother!"

"Why does it sound like an obligatory thing…? What are you doing?"

Niijima didn't know how or when, but Belle-mere was now pushing down on his shoulder as she attempted to somehow get into his body.

He sighed and let her tried a bit more. "You know, that's not how possession work."

"Shut up. If you knew how then you should have told me earlier."

"And why should I do that?"

"To help my daughter, duh!"

"Luffy is already doing that, no?"

"Fool, that's different. I also want a piece of that fish!"

"But you are already dead. The dead should stay dead."

"Haven't you considered that I maybe able to move on if you let me possess your body and give that fish an ass kicking?"

Niijima stopped talking for a moment and considered her words. It was logical, but at the same time, he didn't know if it were a good idea or not.

Belle-mere, as if sensing Niijima's wavering mind, smirked. "Come on. It will only for a moment. I promise I won't do anything stupid."

He crossed his arms over his chest and furrowed his brows. His lips pressed into a thin lines as he considered the pro and con of the situation. For an onmyouji like him, being a temporary medium was not a difficult task since he had proper method to prevent his body from being affected by the Yin-energy of the dead. At the same time, he was taught that the dead shouldn't be interfering with the living. However, that was in his world.

Ever since he came to this world, it was like the law was different somehow. People were a lot more accepting of strange ability than it was his world. If it was only for a moment, he supposed it should be alright.

Still, there would be some house rule. One, Bell-mere shall not use his body for nefarious mean. Two, Bell-mere must treat his body well. Three, Belle-mere shall not ruin his reputation. And lastly, Bell-mere must kept her identity a secret.

When told this, Bell-mere had accepted all the conditions, except that last one. She reasoned that she Nami and Nojiko should be an exception. Niijima saw no reason with that compromise but he also added another clause himself. Even if she couldn't move on after this, she must allow him to guide her to the other side regardless.

With all the little details hammered out, Niijima finally told Bell-mere the correct way to possess a medium. It is when the medium has given expressed permission that a spirit like her could enter his body.

"Wow! Your height is absurd."

"Less talking and more moving. The sooner we get this done the better it is for the both of us." Niijima's voice said from inside his mind.

"Right."

Afterward, she had gone inside her house and retrieved a rifle that she hid. Fortunately, it was still there. She checked the functionality of the weapon and after determining its condition, she nodded and set out. The rest was history as they were now making their way toward Arlong's Park.

It wasn't long before Nami caught up to him. Wordlessly, Nami stole an unreadable glance at Niijima before she sprint down the road with her staff in her hand. Seeing this, Niijima too, took off after her.

During the time it took for them to dress her wound and followed after Luffy, a lot of things happened within Arlong's Park. One reason or another, Luffy had gotten himself foolishly thrown into the ocean while Sanji and Zoro was occupied with the manta ray and the octopus.

Usopp wasn't much of help aside from moral support and a few well placed egg-star right here and there. It did serve as a good distraction but didn't do much in term of damage. In an attempt to save Luffy, Sanji had dove underwater despite the fact that he hadn't quiet finished dealing with his opponent.

Just as the manta ray was about to dive into the water, Zoro switched his stance momentarily and intercepted the jump with his swords that was lent to him by Johnny and Yosaku. The range was a little bit off since those weren't a traditional katana, but a skilled swordsman like Zoro could handle the adjustment flawlessly.

"Your opponent is me!" The octopus, Hatchan, shouted and brought all six swords toward Zoro's back, which had been exposed while he turned to dealt with the manta ray, Kuroobi.

"Usopp Rubber Band of Doom!" An extremely loud obnoxious voice rung out.

Hatchan immediately turned his body and raised his six arms to block. However, the clearing was silent when nothing really out of ordinary seemed to happen.

"Oh, I thought that would have hit me for sure." Hatchan sighed in relief when he realized nothing was coming his way.

"Are you an idiot!" Kuroobi couldn't help but shouted what was on everyone's mind at the moment.

"Focus," Zoro grunted and executed a sword move to slice at Kuroobi.

The attack connected and a trail of blood bled from the fishman's forearms when he raised them up to defend against the attack.

"You!" He growled in anger and retaliated with a few punches.

The blow was strong and purposeful. With each punch came packing with a tremendous force, Zoro had no choice but to redirect the punch with his swords.

Suddenly, a bottle of alcohol came flying at Kuroobi. Still in the heat of battle, Kuroobi instinctively broke the bottle with his karate chop. As the content of the bottle spilled all over the fishman, Zoro heard Usopp's voice loud and clear.

"Zoro! Behind you!"

"Rokutoryuu – Octopus Pot Stance!"

Wasting no time, Zoro immediately blocked the swords that was coming from behind just as Usopp announced his next move.

"Santoryuu – Onigiri!"

"Special Attack! Fire Star!"

A pellet came flying at Kuroobi that was attempting to catch Zoro blind side. Overconfident in his physical ability, Kuroobi ignored the pellet entirely and let it hit him right in the chest. His hubris turned to regret as his entire body immediately burst into flame, courtesy of the alcohol from before.

At the same time, Zoro's attack not only parried Hatchan's six swords, it also broke them, completely destroying the octopus's stance.

"Santoryuu – Tatsumaki!"

He spun his body like a rising dragon as a huge whirlwind twirled into sight. The octopus fishman was slashed multiple times in matter of second as he was flung high into the air along with the wind.

"Hacchi! Kuroobi!" Arlong called out in alarm. He simply couldn't believe his officers were dealt with just like that.

However, with Kuroobi, things turned out much more differently than one would expect. Due to the fire that was on his body, the fishman's instinctively dove into the water, which was precisely what he had wanted to do in the first place.

Even with the time that they managed to stall, Sanji was just a hair breadth from breaking the stone before the manta ray had caught up to him. With his superior speed as a fishman, the cook was forcefully yanked away from finishing his kick.

Knowing trouble was about to happen down below, Zoro immediately tried to dive after the fishman. However, he didn't get a chance to do so when a water bullet came zooming at him. With not other choice, he leaned backward to dodge the incoming projectile. The projectile collided against the ground and he could see a deep indentation within it.

The force behind it was not something to be scoffed at. Warily, Zoro could only hope that Sanji was able to free Luffy, but judging from the lack of reaction, that didn't seem to be the case. He debated if he should go after them, but abandoned that idea. It wasn't wise to allow Arlong to slip into the water.

Head snapping toward Usopp, Zoro suddenly shouted for the boy to run. For the next moment, another water bullet came crashing toward Usopp. It came far too quickly for anyone to react for that matter as the bullet hit him squared in the chest.

Zoro watched in horror as the long nosed sniper's entire body was pushed backward by the momentum of the water bullet.

"Usopp!" He shouted in alarm.

"Where do you think you are looking at, trash?" Arlong's called out as he rose from his seat.

Zoro knew then that for him to help the other, he must first deal with Arlong, but the fight wouldn't be an easy one.

Most of his strikes were either dodged or blocked and Arlong didn't make it easy for Zoro to execute his slash with his strength and close proximity.

Sometimes into their duel, Sanji escaped from the water, followed shortly by Kuroobi, who had a good portion of his body covered in burn mark. Kuroobi briefly exclaimed when he noticed Arlong was fighting Zoro, but his distraction served to allow Sanji to deal a complete combo to him. It was a series of beautiful kick accompanied by fancy french words.

If it were on land, there was absolutely no way Sanji would lose to a fish!

Back with Zoro's fight, Zoro twisted his body in an attempt to slice at Arlong's abdomen. The attempt was good, but the fishman had other idea when he snapped his head aggressively toward Zoro's shoulder.

Given the strength behind his bite, it was a race between who could strike first. At the last moment, Zoro forgo his move and instead, redirected the blades in his hand to follow Arlong's momentum. Before Arlong could connect, however, Zoro turned his attack into another move set.

"Santoryuu – Tora Nagashi!"

The techniques involved him dodging while using the two swords to zone his opponent. At the same time, the third sword, due to the user's continuous movement, would make its way toward the opponent's body.

Blood gushed when the blade collided.

In fact, both side suffered from that reckless exchange. The shark's jaw managed to graze Zoro's shoulder, which still took a good amount of damage. The same thing could be said to that deep gash near Arlong's navel.

Arlong growled in deep annoyance before his eyes briefly contract. At the one single moment, his speed suddenly increased, completely catching Zoro's off guard. His steel-like nose brushed aside Zoro's sword aggressively and broke the swordsman's stance.

Soon, the nose found itself heading toward Zoro's chest.

"Tandoron!"

A kick came inserting in between the two and slammed against Arlong's collar's bone, effectively creating an opening for Zoro to disengage.

"Collier!"

Cue a kick straight toward the neck of the opponent.

"Épaule!"

This time it was a kick toward the shoulder. The attack staggered Arlong and before the fishman could reorient himself, Sanji dropped down to his hand and delivered a kick toward the fishman's ribcage.

"Côtelette! Selle! Poitrine! Gigot!"

A series of successful kick targeting the various different part of Arlong. Debris and spider crack formed throughout the spots on the ground that Arlong collided against from Sanji's kick.

"Mouton Shot!"

Finally, Sanji's last kick connected and ended his combo. Arlong was sent shooting deep into the tower and through the wall, raising up a wall of smoke.

"Oi," Zoro called out during this rare moment of break. The unvoiced question was obvious.

"He's fine for the moment." Sanji grunted even as blood flowed down from his forehead. "Well, sort of."

"Sort of!?"

"Yea-"

From behind the smokescreen, a water bullet zoomed directly toward Sanji. Before he could even finished answering Zoro, his breath was knocked out of him and he collapsed onto the ground as he tried to stabilize himself from the impact.

"Oi!"

Another bullet came this time toward Zoro, who barely deflected the bullet with his sword. However, it was far from over when something sharp sailed toward him.

"Shark on Dart!"

There was absolutely no way he could deflect that. The only option was to dodge to roll to the side as the shark lodged itself into the ground behind Zoro. It took a brief second and the concrete broke apart under Arlong's force.

Zoro was given some breathing room when Nami's voice shouted over all the commotions among the villagers.

"Arlong!" Nami shouted with not a hint of wavering in her voice.

Her eyes briefly scanned at the downed figure of Sanji and even Usopp. An unreadable gaze flashed through her face as she clenched her fist in anger.

"What's the matter, Nami?" Arlong smirked and simply parried Zoro's strike with his nose.

"Don't underestimate me." Zoro growled and twirled around with his swords.

Despite having escaped from having his abdomen sliced by Mihawk's sword, let's not forget the stab wound that was directly over his heart. A human heart is only roughly around 33 millimeter, or 1.2 inches, away from the skin. Even for someone like Zoro, who had a good decent of muscle, for someone with Mihawk's skill, it was entirely child play if he wanted to stop just from piercing the heart.

With an incision that deep and so closed to the heart, Zoro's wound was still fairly severe to the point that it could limit his stamina. In particular, as the heart attempted to pump more blood, it would aggravate the stab wound.

It was precisely for that reason that Zoro was not able to exert 100 percent of his power. The location of the wound made it difficult to gather the necessary oxygen for his muscle to do the work. Despite that, his effort yielded some result and even managed to nick Arlong with a few well placed swing.

Arlong didn't appreciate that. Not especially when he was wounded by an inferior being. Retaliating in kind, he growled, "Ant like you should die."

With a twist of his nose, he exerted enough force to break Zoro's sword. However, Zoro, sensing the unavoidable outcome, purposely loosened his grip and let the swords bounced away from his grip. They were his friend's swords and to break them would be inappropriate. Afterward, Arlong immediately delivered a punch to Zoro's torso and knocked the teen back toward the debris. With that done, Arlong once again fixed his gaze toward Nami.

"Zoro!"

"Now, with that out of the way, what's the matter?" He repeated himself.

For a moment, Nami wavered just for a tiny bit, but a strong hand clasped onto her shoulder, providing her the strength to continue. Steeling her resolve, she looked Arlong in the eyes and said, "I've come to kill you."

It was a statement that was spoken with much conviction. There wasn't even a single hesitation behind it that it surprised even herself.

For Arlong, however, that statement was much more amusing. He began recounting the various method that Nami had tried to kill him. Yet all of them had ended in failures. He mocked Nami for those 8 years that she had been serving him, but never once had she succeeded. And, being a magnanimous guy he was, he offered Nami that he would spare the villager's life as long as she was willing to join his crew once more.

"So tell me, Nami. Are you with me?" He barred his fangs in a threatening manner as he put his feet over Sanji's back.

A masculine voice answered his question instead.

"Fuck off."

It was low and accompanying it was the sound of rifle firing. Unlike normal bullet, however, there appeared to be something extra to the bullet that was being fired. It left behind a thin veil of smoke as if it were enveloped in a layer of cocoon. After all, a bullet empowered by the wrath of a vengeful ghost of a mother was not something to scoff at. Due to the fact that Niijima's body was attuned with the spiritual side, it was instinctual for Bell-mere to use her infuse a bit of her ghostly power into the shot.

With Arlong's stature, normal bullet had no hope of even damaging him, but at that moment, he felt something screamed at him to dodge. Good thing he did because as the bullet zoomed past him and hit the wall behind him, the entire wall collapsed. That bullet had felt more like a concentrated cannon blast than just a mere rifle.

"Niijima-san!" Nami called out. She couldn't believe what she had just seen.

But that wasn't all, Niijima suddenly dashed toward Arlong. With a well practiced movement, he completely knocked Arlong down with an overhead kick. The rifle is once more lodged against the fish's mouth.

The scene was like a replay of all those years ago when Belle-mere had Arlong at gun point. Except, this time, he wasted no time in pressing the trigger. At the same time, Arlong forced his entire body to shove the man off of him.

It was good reaction on the fishman's part as that one moment of slip allowed him to narrowly dodge the bullet that was fired from the nozzle.

"Fuck, woman! Fight at range! I'm not a melee fighter!" Niijima screamed at Belle-mere for being in such close proximity to the source of danger. "Hurry, get back. The fish is about to counter attack!"

"You don't have to tell me something so obvious," Belle-mere murmured in reply using his own mouth.

He leaped back and fired a few more shot at Arlong, who used his strength in an attempt to overpower Niijima. However, Niijima kept his distance, not giving Arlong a chance to get close at all.

Meanwhile, as Niijima was keeping Arlong occupied, Sanji had dove back under the water to break the stone that Luffy had foolishly stuck himself in. There was another fishman that tried to hinder Sanji. Fortunately, Zoro had recovered and prevented that octopus from doing anything stupid.

As for Usopp, somehow, the long nosed kid had mustered enough strength to offers words of support. From behind the hole on the wall, he was screaming words of encouragement and mocking remarks at Niijima and Arlong, respectively.

Eventually, after taking care of the octopus, Zoro looked at the water where Sanji had gone. After making sure something there wouldn't be anymore nuisances, he made his way to Nami. His gaze held questions and they all seem to be about Niijima.

Nami too, looked at Zoro, before shaking her head. A sense of unease fluttered over her heart.

"He seems different." Zoro said.

He observed the fight with interest, never minding the fact that his chest is dyed red from his wound again. He winced a bit and applied pressure over the wound, stemming off the blood so it could close up.

Seeing this, Nami immediately instructed Zoro to lie down so the blood won't spill out as much. Even so, both of them were curious with this new Niijima. From what they had seen from the man, Niijima didn't look like someone who could use a rifle as well as he was displaying right now.

"Since when can he shoot so well?" Usopp mused as he inched closer to Nami and Zoro.

It was like a second nature to him. From parrying with the butt of the rifle to maneuvering his body with consideration to the nozzle's position, everything flowed together smoothly. Not to mention, the strange part was, he were not using his talisman. It were like he wasn't the Niijima they knew.

The fight escalated to the point that Arlong was forced to use Shark on Dart in order to close the distant between them. He had tried a few water bullets but Niijima either skillfully dodged or shot them down with his own rifle. As the fishman prepared to launch, Niijima was not dumb enough to just stand still and let that happened.

He repositioned himself and fired another shot.

"Wait, how many shots had he fired?" Usopp suddenly asked out of the blue.

From the look of it, it was clearly more than 10 shots, a fact that was completely ridiculous in this time line. Normal flintlock rifle can only fired one or two shots, depending on the barreling, before needing to reload. Yet, this man had been firing his rifle nonstop for the last five minutes.

Not once had he even stopped to reload.

That question was left unanswered as a geyser of water suddenly sprouted not too far away. Everyone's attention is locked onto a humanoid figure that flew out of the water while screaming, "I'm back!"

"Ossan! Switch!"

It only gave Niijima, or Belle-mere, a second to realize what was happening. The next second, the onmyouji was flying through the air as Luffy forcefully switched their position with his stretchy hands.

"You brat!" Niijima screamed, but Bell-mere had other idea.

From their current position, the vantage point for a snipe was just perfect. Not minding the wind that was whipping past his face, he moved the rifle toward Arlong and fired one last shot. Using the way Arlong's body was knocked around by Luffy's frantic warm-up, or so the boy said, the bullet landed perfectly into Arlong's abdomen, where Zoro and Sanji had done some good amount of damage to.

Credits must be made for a fish man's physique. Even with a wrath infused bullet, his physique still managed to stop the bullet from completely piercing through him. As it stood, the bullet managed to bury itself pretty deep into Arlong's body, courtesy to Sanji's tenderizing process.

That was enough for Belle-mere to consider her shot as a success.

"Take that, you son of a bitch." She cursed, completely ignoring the fact that Niijima's body was soon falling downward.

Fortunately, below him was the ocean. As a trained marine, how could she not know how to dive. Streamlining, she dove into the ocean without hurting Niijima too much. Even so, she frowned when she felt a dull ache coming from his chest. He appeared to have sustain some damage well before she even took over his body.

"You just noticed it now?" Niijima cursed loudly in his mind.

"Oh, sorry." She replied sheepishly.

Whatever happened from behind those walls, she didn't know from her current location. It appeared that she was flung quiet far away.

Back inside the park, those that witnessed the shot was shock. "What was that!?"

It cemented inside their mind that the rifle must be magical or something. There was no way it could injure Arlong like that! Luffy paused in his fight and frowned at the direction he flung Niijima in. It was just a split second, before he focused back onto Arlong that had now crashed against the wall.

Although it was a clean hit, Arlong grunted but otherwise showed no visible pain. The fish man stood up and glared at the direction Niijima had flown off to. Then, he switched his bloodlust gaze back at Luffy. If he couldn't vent his anger out on Niijima, then he would make sure this inferior being knew his place!

"You inferior human! You can't do anything by yourself! Even having to team up against me. So what, that still doesn't change the fact that you are inferior!"

Arlong's eyes narrowed and he flung himself toward Luffy with his jaw wide opened. From the look of it, he wanted to bite into Luffy. Then, Luffy did something that was either idiotic or smart. He picked up two random swords on the ground and swung at Arlong like a mad man. The flurry of sword strike stopped Arlong from his track as he reassessed the situation.

Luffy was smiling as he waved those swords around. "It's because I can't do anything that I need help!"

He said as if that was the most obvious fact ever.

"I don't have time to play around with you." Arlong knocked the sword away with his nose and glared at Luffy.

Right now, in his mind, he needed to kill this pest as soon as possible so he could go after the one that shot him. Although the bullet had been forcefully expelled from his abdomen, the blood that was trickling down made the wound didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

However, Luffy didn't allow Arlong to finish before he spun around. Using the momentum from his spin, he delivered a strong uppercut toward the fishman, effectively breaking his teeth.

"Of course I don't know how to use a sword, you dumbass." Luffy shouted at the down Arlong.

"I don't know anything about navigation either!"

"I can't cook and I can't lie."

"I also can't do mysterious magic either!"

"Without their helps, I am confident that I won't survive!"

The more he said, the more sense he made. It was like he was declaring to the world that no one can do anything by himself and it was perfectly normal to accept help from other.

Apparently, Arlong thought otherwise. He simply couldn't agree that a someone without self-confidence could be a captain. Yet, Luffy proved him wrong with his next line.

"I can beat you!"

And that was a fact. In an alternative world, even without the bullet wound on Arlong's body, the rubber boy still managed to completely wrecked the entire Arlong's Park and destroyed the cartographer's room.

Later on, everyone will know that Luffy valued his friends above all else. As he stood in victory over the defeated Arlong, the villagers' cheer was like thunder. However, the marines just had to be a party pooper.

"Everyone freeze!"

With the pistols pointing at them, the villagers had no choice but to stop in their track. They glanced around nervously when the rat-like captain came into view. He glared at the people present with great disdain.

And in a sneering tone, he stated, "All of you are under arrest for conspiring with the criminal."

"What do you mean?"

"For hiding the loots that criminal Nami stole and for harboring pirates, those crimes are more than enough to put you all behind the bar." He sneered.

"But if you tell me where you put those treasure, I can be a little bit more lenient." He smirked condescendingly.

Nami snapped her head up at the mention of her treasure. From the sound of it, it didn't appear that they found her stack.

Then, his gaze rested onto the fallen body of Arlong and his smirk grew even wider. "In addition, I shall take credit for your victory as the one to defeat Arlong."

As if that wasn't enough already to declare his corruption, he even had to openly stated his greed. However, that greed didn't last long when a very familiar butt of a rifle found its way knocking the rat over his head.

"Niijima-san!" Usopp shouted in surprise.

"What was it about taking credits that wasn't even yours, Nezumi?" Niijima growled and repositioned the rifle so the nozzle now pointed at the frightened captain.

"W-Who are you!?"

"What was the first thing you learn as a Trainee!?" Niijima barked. "Thou shalt uphold justice!"

The nozzle was pressed even closer to the man's chest. "How can you call yourself a captain when you don't even understand this basic rule!"

Niijima then proceeded to recite a few more rules, all of which that Nezumi had broken. Ranging from taking bribery to conspiring with pirates, Niijima's glare deepen to the point that Nezumi felt like he was a piece of trash under that harsh glare.

"H-How do you know the Marines Code so well! W-who are you!?"

"How could I not know those codes! I am-"

Abruptly, Niijima suddenly froze. The rifle in his hand slackened and fell onto the ground. Suddenly, the glaring face was replaced with a smile so cold that it could freeze a volcano.

"My apology." Niijima said and bend down toward the shivering captain. "You don't need to know who I am."

He smirked and gave Nezumi a punch in the face. With the rifle no longer pointing at himself, the rat man seemed a lot more confident as he scurried away from the smiling Niijima.

"Men, attack!" He ordered and the group of marines all swung into action. Rather, there were a few marines that refused to act.

It were as if Niijima's earlier words had held such a deep impact on them that the refused to follow their corrupted captains anymore. Despite that, the entire lot was beaten down by Luffy and the rest.

Lying over his downed comrades, Nezumi's mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. He refused to stop threatening Luffy and the rest. Until Nami came over and gave the captain a good smack on the cheek with her staff.

"That was for shooting Nojiko." She smiled serenely after venting out her stress.

Then, her eyes swept over to Niijima, who was acting strangely on the side. The man appeared to be talking to air again and if Nami suspicion was correct, she knew who he was talking to. She didn't seem surprise when Niijima gave a sigh before he suddenly shuddered. Then, his whole demeanor changed again.

Nezumi, who was just getting back up from the assault, was once again assaulted. A bullet found itself lodged into the man's shoulder, at the exact spot that Nojiko was injured. "How do you like your own medicine, Nezumi." Niijima sneered as he lowered the rifle.

No one knew how he acquired one so quickly after he dropped the other one. However, they didn't care much for the small detail anyway.

Only when Nezumi was a good distant away that he dared shout back. "So you are the damn captain of this rowdy bunch! I shall remember you! Eeps!"

He ducked when a bullet zipped past him. "You shall regret this!"

Soon, the villagers dispersed to announce their victory.

Only the straw hat pirate and Nojiko remained. They watched Niijima with apprehension as he went near the unconscious Arlong. His rifle pointed at Arlong's head but stopped short from pulling the trigger. The man stood still for a moment, as if he were having an internal debate. His hand shook before finally, the rifle was lowered.

He shut his eyes as if to calm himself down and without another look at the remaining people there, headed off down to another path.

Luffy and the others glanced at one another before nodding. It appeared that something was wrong with Niijima and they intended to find out what. Wordlessly the crew followed after the man until they finally reached a familiar cliff side where a wooden cross sit.

"Are you sure?" Niijima suddenly asked and his posture changed once more.

To those that had already seen this before, they knew he was talking to a spirit. As for who he were talking to, Nami already had an answered. Tear swelled up in her eyes and she dashed toward the cliff, not bothering to hide the fact that she was hiding herself a moment prior.

"Nami-kun?" Niijima called out in surprise. His gaze landed on the rest of the crew.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Belle-mere!" In return, Nami suddenly cried out toward the empty space.

At that moment, only Niijima knew what type of expression the ghost wore. It was one filled with deep love, regret, and also pride. The ghost in questioned reached out with her hands in an attempt to grab hold of the girl, but her hands simply passed through Nami's shoulder.

Seeing her sister in such a distraught state, Nojiko came up to Nami and rubbed the girl's back comfortingly. She thought her sister was talking to the grave because this was indeed their mother's grave. She wasn't expecting for Nami to suddenly turned to Niijima.

In a pleading tone, she asked, "Niijima-san, could you please-"

The question hadn't even left her mouth before Niijima nodded solemnly. Seeing this, Luffy and the rest naturally didn't want to intrude on such a moment. He already knew what would come next. Only newcomer like Sanji and Nojiko would not understand.

"Wait, what's going to happen next?" Sanji asked in confusion. He just didn't understand why a beautiful girl like Nami was crying. It pissed him off, really, but the atmosphere on the cliff made it difficult for him to interject.

"Oi, let's leave already, love-cook."

"What was that? You marimo!"

"Give them some privacy."

"Then what about the old man? Why is he there?"

Usopp wrapped his arm around Sanji's shoulder and explained, "Uh, he kinda is needed there. Let's go."

"Wait!" Still not one to leave so easily, Sanji turned around even if his body was being escorted away by Luffy and the rest.

His eyes widened and his jaw fell when he saw something shimmering in the air before a red headed woman appeared over the grave post. A moment later, she was hugging a crying Nojiko and Nami while Niijima simply stood a little bit farther away, acting very hard not to listen in on the conversation.

Sanji's jaw was picked up by Usopp, who helped the cook closed his mouth and turned his head around. "Niijima is an exorcist. He can communicate with ghost."

He explained as if that was the most normal thing ever, completely disregarding Sanji's disbelieving face and the way the man was stuttering incoherently. It was with a gobsmacked expression that Sanji was pulled away from the group.

Back over on the cliff, the conversation among them was short, but meaningful. Eventually, all things must come to an end. It was time to say their final goodbye.

"Nami, go chase after your dreams." Belle-mere said.

Hearing that, tears began to roll down Nami's face again. Yet this time, it was from tear of happiness. That one single line from Belle-mere was her way of approving Nami's decision to join a pirate group. Although Nami hadn't verbally said it, but as her mother, how could Belle-mere not know of her daughter's dream?

Even Nojiko had agreed. She simply smiled at her sister and nodded approvingly. From what she had seen, the Straw Hat Pirate was unlike any other pirates she had seen. Even if she felt a little bit sadden by Nami's decision, she knew that Nami would be much happier to be on Luffy's ship than to stay behind in this town.

"Oi you," Belle-mere called rudely to Niijima, who was sitting somewhat far away, but was close enough to hear her shout.

He perked his head back and glanced at her meaningfully. "Ready?" With a soft grunt, he hauled himself up from the grass and walked toward the trio.

Belle-mere scoffed but there was a grateful smile on her face as she nodded.

Chanting softly under his breath, power began to swell from around him. The ocean breeze picked up its speed. Following the draft, Belle-mere began to float upward. Her body began to fade, but suddenly, something unexpected occurred.

The spirit herself could tell that something seriously went wrong and even Niijima frowned. The wind died down and both Nami and Nojiko looked at them in concern.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked quietly.

Niijima's frowned simply deepened even further. He furrowed his eyebrows and started chanting once more. This time, however, he was actively looking for something. His head tilted to a side and he lifted his ear, as if he was trying to listen to something. His nose twitched, like he was trying to catch a whiff of an untraceable source of smell.

Seeing his cue, both Nami and Nojiko sniffed their noses and tried to listen to whatever that was bothering Niijima. Wordlessly, the two humans and a ghost followed after Niijima as the man walked off.

They eventually arrived at the tangerine grove, but Niijima showed no sign of stopping his chant.

"Wait a minute, since when did we have another row of tangerine?" Nojiko wondered and pointed at the extra row.

"How?" Nami frowned and watched Niijima's every single movement.

"It's to protect your treasures from those corrupted marine," Belle-mere explained briefly the event that happened this afternoon, earning a few nods from her daughter.

Niijima waved his hand and the extra row of tangerine disappeared. Suddenly, Nami's gaze sharpened and she focused every bit of her attention onto Niijima. For he was standing over the spot where her treasure lied.

"Oi, what are you doing!?" She couldn't help but shouted. Her love for money momentarily took over her logical side.

At this, Niijima stopped chanting. His frown deepened and he said, "Nami-kun, can we take a look at your treasure?"

"You better not be eyeing those treasures." Nami warned and crossed her arms over her chest.

Belle-mere, with her training from her time as a marine, immediately caught onto something amiss.

"Wait, Nami. Let's him check it. I'm sure he's not the type to steal."

Nami looked at her mother with an unreadable look. Still frowning, she turned to Niijima and glared. "Don't get any idea, alright!"

"No, I'm not interested in your treasure in the way that you think I am." Niijima sighed and ran a hand over his hair. "I sensed some dark energy mixed in here."

He nudged his head at Belle-mere, "It's what preventing you from leaving."

"Wait, then isn't that a good thing? She can stay here with us until the object is destroyed!" Nojiko said before she could stop herself.

Then, she realized what she had said and put a hand over her mouth in shame. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

Essentially, even if Belle-mere could stay, she would not be able to interact with her daughters without Niijima's help. Nojiko's statement was unreasonable to begin with since she was asking Niijima to do more than what he offered. It was rude and completely uncalled for.

"Nojiko..." Belle-mere's eyes softened as Nami put a hand over her sister in a comforting manner.

Fortunately, Niijima didn't really put that much in mind. Instead, he handled it like any adult would when speaking to someone younger than them. He simply pretended that remark didn't exist and move on from the situation. Otherwise, it would have been far too petty of him to purposely sour the currently already tense atmosphere.

"Nami-kun, I'm going to unearth your treasure." He stated and waited until Nami agreed before he proceeded.

Nami frowned but even she realized the seriousness of the situation. If they left here without taking care of this problem, Belle-mere would be forced to stay here for who knew how long. And the worse part was, no one would be able to hear her, see her, or even touch her. It couldn't even considered as living, though she technically wasn't living to begin with.

She gave a nod and Niijima proceeded with his plan. Very soon, the dirt neatly arranged itself to reveal what buried underneath. Something as simple as manipulating element had always been a necessary skill that all onmyouji was required to have. They can manipulate but they can never add more from nothing.

It was a large chest and the lock on it was old. For someone as skilled as Nami, there was simply no need for a key when she could always picked it. It was a fail safe mechanism in case someone stole it. Granted, if said person really truly wanted to break the lock, it could easily be done due to the aged lock.

With a click, the lock snapped open. Nami took one glance at the lock and simply threw it aside.

"Nami?"

"There's no longer a need for the lock, Nojiko. This money was originally meant for the villagers anyway." She smiled serenely at her sister.

Ignoring the exchange, Niijima flipped open the chest and immediately drew back from the stench. Apparently, it was an odor that only he could smell. He put one hand over his nose and used his other to clear the air, an action that attracted the attention of those present.

"What's wrong?" Belle-mere asked.

Niijima didn't answer. His eyes were sharp and there was an almost dangerous gleam to it as he assessed the loot. He brushed aside some of the money that was clearly stained with blood. Not much work was needed before he paused as he found what he was looking for.

He didn't touch it but brushed aside some of the coins and stack of money to make room for the item.

It was a pendant.

The fact that it was located among the top layer coincide with what Belle-mere had told him earlier in the day. If he had to guess, this must be Nami's previous trip before she met them.

"Where did you get this pendant?" Niijima asked with just a tad more rough than his usual tone.

It took a moment, but Nami did have a recognition of that particular pendant. While the outer rim design of the pendant was nothing to look at, the inside of the pendant held a very nice looking gem. Its color was the darkest obsidian and the cut on it was gorgeous to the point that the various facet simply reflected the different depths of black.

"That's a gem mainly found in the Grand Line." Belle-mere mused and brought her ghostly self toward the gem.

"The Grand Line?"

"Yes. It's a fairly common gem and worth as much as only a couple hundred thousands Beli max. You may be able to fetch it for maybe a little bit less than a million here in the Blues."

Hearing that Nami's eyes immediately switched to the Beli sign. She turned to Nojiko with a ravenous look and said, "Hear that, Nojiko! Make sure you sell this gem in the blues. You'll make more money!"

Nojiko chuckled lightly, "Alright, alright."

Seeing the sister's banter, Belle-mere looked at her children with a fond look. It was a mix of nostalgia and just a tad unwilling. But, she knew. She shouldn't stay here any longer than necessary. Speaking of which, she switched her look toward the pendant once more and wondered just what it was so special about this pendant that was grounding her.

According to Niijima, this pendant held traces of dark energy, but she hadn't seen anything out of place so far. Just as she thought that, she paused. There appeared to be something twisting and turning in the middle. It took on a serpentine shape, writhing about like a worm. Despite the solid state of the gem, the worm was swimming within it like it was liquid.

"What's this?" She frowned and said, alerting those around her toward the pendant.

Nami reached her hand toward the pendant, wanting to have a better look of the item that Belle-mere was talking about.

"Let me see."

However, a large hand blocked her from moving any further and she looked at Niijima with a questionable look, one that Niijima returned with a wry smile.

"Don't." It was one of the shortest response she had ever heard from the older man.

At that moment, Niijima harbored a look that was completely devoid of any emotion. Yet, the surrounding air seemed to be charged with a hint of bloodlust to the point that it sent shiver down their spines.

Wordlessly, the man hovered his hand over the pendant and murmured a series of chant. A sphere of light enveloped the pendant, causing it to float eerily to Niijima's eye level. The man stood up, while keeping his hand still hovering over the pendant, he directed it to a more open area away from the tangerine grove.

His chant increased in volume at the same time sparks appeared within the sphere. Shortly after, a wail like a mixture of a snarl and screech burst forth. If not for the sphere that was containing it, Nami could have sworn the sound would have destroyed their ear drum. Even with the barrier in place, its high pitched wail was already nerve grating.

It was like someone was running their long nails over a blackboard.

Then, they see it. A black serpent the size of an earth worm slithered out from the gem, like a snake breaking out from its egg. Yet, unlike a normal hatching process, it seems to be writhing in pain, like an intoxicated eels that suffered from toxic shock, twitching and entangling itself.

It attempted to break the light barrier but whenever its body came into contact with the sphere, spark of electricity would force it to go back inside. Miasma filled the sphere as time passed just as the spheres began to shrink. Synchronously, Niijima's chanting pick up speed and he formed a multitude of hand sign with his other.

Wind picked up speed from beneath his feet, scattering the blade of grass into the air. Finally, Niijima pulled his hand back and clapped them loudly in front of him.

"Break!" He shouted.

The sphere shattered like glass. With a last pitiful wail, the worm too, disappeared along with the gem in the pendant. Only the shell of the pendant remained as it clattered unceremoniously onto the cold hard floor.

As if the spell was broken, there was a sound of chain clattering before Belle-mere's body glowed white. Puff of dandelion fluttered away just as her lower body began to vanish as a rapid pace.

"Belle-mere!"

"Nami, Nojiko!"

"The spell that was holding you in place had been broken. You are moving on now." Niijima said tiredly.

It took a split second to sink in. Then Belle-mere broke out into a content smile and said, "Girls, take care."

Nami started sobbing. That day when she left due to her anger and the day when she witness Belle-mere's death, they all came back to her. All those words that she couldn't say back then poured out like a burst dam.

"Mom, I love you!"

Hearing that, Belle-mere stiffened and tears started to flow down her cheeks too. "I love you too, my daughters."

It had been a long time since Nami last called her by her title. Hearing it one last time before she disappeared was the greatest gift a mother could have gotten. Just like that, Belle-mere completely vanished just as the sun started to set.

Nami and Nojiko simply sat in front of their mother's grave for the rest of the night. Even when the sun had completely set, the two sisters leaned against one another as they recalled all those sweet memories of their childhood.

As for Niijima, he had long headed off to join the party, giving the girls the privacy they needed. His thought was heavy as he thought of the gem that he destroyed. That was, no doubt, the egg of the Fukitsu-mono, a creature of calamity and misfortune.

If that were to mature fully, it would spell huge trouble for the people living here. Yet, Belle-mere's words rang true in his mind. "Gems like these were common in the Grand Line."

The implication behind that was huge. If he was right, then it was very likely that the Fukitsu-mono had made its nest within the Grand Line. The fastest way to kill the eggs would be to kill the main body. Ultimately, as long as he found the main body, he would find the Crown too.

"Oh hey, where's Nami?" Usopp called when he saw the older man coming.

Niijima smiled lightly and loosened his fist. "Oh, she's having some time for herself at the moment. Especially after what happened."

Usopp nodded in understanding before his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Niijima. "Say, earlier, this afternoon, how did you shoot so well? Are you perhaps a professional sniper too?"

He inched closer, as if doing so would allow him to discover the secret. "And what's with those unlimited bullets?"

He circled Niijima like he was examining a piece of sculpture. The older male scoffed and chuckled the more he listened to Usopp's musing.

"No, Usopp-kun. I have never held a gun before today in my entire life." He laughed lightly when Usopp reeled back in shock.

"Impossible! That last snipe was perfect! It was like you were possessed…"

The words died before it caught up in his brain. Immediately, he brought both arms around his shoulder as if he were trying to keep himself warm. At the same time, he jumped away from Niijima and shivered uncontrollably.

"Y-you a-a-are N-Niijima-s-s-san r-right!?"

Fortunately or unfortunately, Zoro just happened to be passing by when he was used as a human shield. Usopp hid behind Zoro and peeked over the swordsman shoulder comically.

"Oi! Get off me!"

"Z-Zoro! He's being possessed by a ghost!" Usopp pointed his finger shakily at Niijima.

"Hah!?" Zoro furrowed his brows and let out an exasperated noise.

"He was just telling me how he had never touched a gun before! You know what that mean!? He was possessed!"

Zoro scowled and shook Usopp off of him. Then, he narrowed his eyes at Niijima in an assessing manner. "Who?"

The question was short and straight to the point.

"Nami's mom." Similarly, Niijima shrugged and said the truth. There wasn't any reason to lie anyway.

"N-Nami's mom!?" Usopp exclaimed.

Even Zoro widened his eyes briefly. "Damn."

"I know. She's badass." Niijima nodded in agreement, but suddenly winced. He instinctively brought his hand over his chest, forgetting the fact that both Usopp and Zoro were here.

When he realized, he tried to disguise it as if he were brushing away the dirt over his outfit, but it wasn't fooling Zoro's sharp eyes.

"You are injured."

Seeing no other way out of this, Niijima sighed. "Yea. I think I may have a fractured rib or two. Or just a bruise."

He shrugged. He had never been a physical fighter. Today's exertion had actually did more harm than good to his injured body, especially when that crazy woman had executed so many maneuver one after another.

"Was it from last time?"

When confronted with this question, Niijima didn't bother hiding it anymore. It would be disrespectful to Zoro if he were to deny it any further. In return, Niijima simply acknowledge it and moved on.

"Yea." He nodded lightly. "Have you checked out your wound yet?"

He redirected the question to Zoro, who remained silent while giving Niijima a scrutinizing look. Finally, Zoro grunted in affirmation.

"Take care of yourself, ossan."

Niijima made a playful scowl and halfheartedly said, "It's Niijima-san, brat."

At that moment, Sanji turned around the corner. Upon spotting Niijima, the blonde called out to him. "There you are! Is it true that you can see ghost?"

"Ah, Sanji-kun, welcome to the crew." Niijima lightly grinned.

"Oh, huh? Thank you. But that's not what I'm here for!" Sanji instinctively responded but swatted his hand aside dramatic as if to swat away any stray remark.

"Oi! Sanji! Where did you say that Raw Ham Melon were? I couldn't find it." Luffy popped his head out from behind a bush.

His face was stuffed with meat already and even his hand held several pieces of grill meat. Even so, he showed no sign of stopping.

"I already told you, I grabbed it randomly since all the foods are out everywhere. Now stop interrupting me!"

"Huh? Ok. See ya." Luffy grinned. "I'll go find it then."

"Now, where was I—Damn it! Where did he go!?" Sanji growled when he realized Niijima had already headed off with Usopp, who were telling him where all the food were.

Just like that, the party lasted well into the next day without showing any sign of stopping.

- o - o - o - o - o -

To be continued...