Chapter 4: "I want to Know Fish-man Karate"

Snapper Head

Paradise; Grand Line

"How are you doing Naruto are you feeling any better now?" Aladine asked knocking on the door to Naruto's room.

No answer.

"It has been a week since you locked yourself in here and we have not seen nor heard much from you since. I realize how much Tiger means to you Naruto but you can't keep dwelling on such things that already happened in the past. Tiger wouldn't want that to happen to you." Aladine continued.

"…I just need some more time Aladine ." Naruto finally replied a subtle hint of uncertainty and doubt present in his tone.

"That is quite all right Naruto take as much time as you need. I've left some food outside your door should you get hungry just leave the empty tray outside once you've finished." Aladine said

"Thank you Aladine " Naruto replied before Aladine finally left. A few seconds later, Aladine was on the deck with Hatchan, Chew, Marco, and Jinbe who is now the new capatin of the Sun Pirates.

After the death of Fisher Tiger, command of the Sun Pirates was handed to Jinbe. Begin the second-in-command of the Sun Pirates and the strongest fishmen after Tiger, Jinbe was likely choice.

"How is Naruto doing?" Jinbe asked Aladine.

"He's still in grieving," Aladine. "Of all of us in the crew, he took Tiger's death the hardest."

"Can't blame," says Macro. "Naruto mean what he says of look up to Tiger as a father figure."

"Forget about Naruto!" Chew snapped. "What about Arlong? What are we going to do now he been capture by the marines?"

Arlong, enraged by the treachery that led to his captain's death, returned to Foolshout Island in an attempt to murder all its citizens in revenge, but Marine Vice Admiral Borsalino defeated and captured him.

"So what about Arlong?" Marco retort. "It's his own fault for breaking rank and going out bon his own!"

"What was that?" Kuroobi growls angrily, backed by the fish-man who were once part of the Arlong Pirates.

"You want say that again?" Chew also threatened Maco.

"Or what?" Macro snarl back, while begin backed by Gyaro and Tansui.

"That's enough!' Tiger shouted, ending the tensions. "I know how all are you are upset over Tiger's death and Arlong's capture by the marines. But that is no excuse for us to be at each other throats."

"Hey capatin,' Hatchan shouted, with a newspaper in hand. "You better take a look at this. I think it's Arlong's account to the Marines in the newspaper."

Hearing that, Jinbe took the paper from Hatchan and begin reading it "According to the Marines' interrogation with Arlong, Fisher Tiger died after being refused a blood transfusion by humans. I don't believed it...Arlong lied to the Marines."

"So what," said Aladine. "Would you rather if Arlong tells the whole truth. It would been much worse if news get out that Tiger was a former slave. They would attack his character to the point his reputation as pirate and freedom fighter would be twisted. As much as bad apple as Arlong is, at least he wouldn't say anything to run Tiger's honor."

"I guess you're right," said Jinbe.

"Capatin," Hatchan shouted again. 'I see an enemy ship heading our way."

"It's too late now and there is nothing we could do to bring back our captain back." Jinbe says before giving out orders "All right men prepare for battle and remember...no killing!"

0o0o0

Marineford

Paradise; Grand Line

"You look mess up!" Vice Admiral Borsalino says to Rear Admiral Strawberry. He was bandaged up, still recovering from Jinbe's attack.

"He was formidable," Strawberry says, moaning through the pain of his injuries.

"Well at least he's locked up," Borsalino remarked.

"I'm not talking about Arlong," Strawberry pointed out. "He nothing compare to the one called Jinbe. He's the most dangerous member of the Sun Pirates with his strength being anything but ordinary."

"I agreed," says Borsalino. "Not to mention the blonde human kid on the Sun Pirates. He single-handedly took out 12 Marine ships all by himself. Plus he the only devil fruit user I know who learned how swim, going around the inability to swim. A child with kind of power can be very scary if left uncheck."

"I agreed," says Strawberry. "We need find them and taken them in."

0o0o0

Ryugu Palace; Fish-man Island

Red Line

Meanwhiel, word of Tiger's death has already rich the people of Fish-man Island.

The Fish-man/Merfolk citizens when they first heard that Fisher Tiger attacked Mary Geoise and freed the slaves there, they rally to support him, due to their own fear and distrust towards humans that oppressed them. Now with Tiger dead, the people of Fish-man Island's fear and distrust towards humans increased several folds. However, two people in Fish-man Island was fully aware of the truth of the tragedy.

Their names were King Neptune and Queen Otohime. The two of them read a letter from Jinbe, telling the true story behind Fisher Tiger's death.

King Neptune was a giant-sized and muscular coelacanth merman. He has a red nose, small eyes, and long thick orange curly hair (despite his age of seventy) and beard. Both his chest and arms are covered with hair. He is bare-chested and has matching black tattoos on both arms, which looks like a spiral with wavy protrusion designs around it. He wears a gold crown that resembles a tulip with jewels embedded, a golden bracelet on each wrist, and carries a gold trident with an elaborate design.

Queen Otohime was a normal human-sized mermaid. Her golden blonde hair was partially held up in two loops, much like her daughter Shirahoshi only shorter, by an orange headpiece. She also had green eyes (blue in the anime), thick eyelashes, and wore pink lipstick. She was usually seen wearing a very long white kimono with a cream-colored carp-scale design along the hem and a sash around her shoulders that floated behind her head much like her children.

"Tiger had lived the only way he could," Neptune comments.

"I understood what his heart was saying the last time he visited the palace." said Otohime. She recalls the day Tiger had a meeting with the royal family after what seemed to be an adventure, Neptune asked Tiger about what he saw during his adventures. Tiger answered with one word, "humans". Otohime then began shedding tears.

After Tiger's death, Otohime became more determined than ever. She continued preaching to her people only to be shunned. Day after day, Otohime rescued humans from shipwrecks, teaching the children of Fish-Man Island about the surface world, giving speeches in the streets, and asking for signatures. However, while Otohime was fighting for e coexistence of humans and fish-man/merfolk, another faction was doing the opposite.

This group was called the Sun Pirates.

The Sun Pirates were consists of fish-man and merfolk who wish to carried on the ideas of Arlong; make Fish-Men the supreme race and aimed to sink the humans into the ocean. This group was consist of five fish-man who looked up to Alrong since they were children; Dosun, Zeo, Daruma, Ikaros Much, and Hody Jones.

Hody Jones is a great white shark fish-man, the captain of the New Fish-Man Pirates. He is serving as a soldier of the Neptune Army, yet his true purpose was only to gain battle experience and not out of loyalty.

As Hody and his childhood friends were growing up in the Fish-Man District, they only learned one thing: hate humans. With Arlong as their role-model, they were indoctrinated into believing that fish-men were heaven-sent to rule the world and they grew to despise humans based on the belief that they are destined to be superior. Hody and his crew looked up to Arlong and his dream. Hody dreamed that one day, he would grow up to be Arlong's right-hand man.

Upon Tiger's death, Hody's friends became an anarchist group that would kill any Fish-Man who sympathized with humans, especially those who willingly donated blood to them.

Their true objective was to overthrown King Neptune one day and replace his kingdom with a regime that symbolizes Arlong's ideas.

0o0o0

Snapper Head

Paradise; Grand Line

It's been a year since Tiger's death and Arlong's capture, the crew had to cope with these tragedies and keep doing two things to survive; sailing and fighting. It was currently nighttime and most of the crew were now asleep except for a few who either were on watch duty or are doing their tasks, or some of them couldn't sleep and were hanging outside talking to one another. Aladdin was doing that, listening to one of his crewmates who had to open up about his thoughts on all of this and what he felt missing. Unknown to the two of them, Jibe was close by, listening.

"It's rough," says the fish-man pirate. "I left my family on fishmen island. My wife and kids…I hope they are doing okay."

"Going home again isn't that simple, not for us." Aladdin replies as he was holding unto a bottle of sake from which he drank from "We're escaped slaves and pirates-to-boot so we've got to put our own dreams on hold. We might be stuck sailing for the rest of our lives."

The guy quickly reacted and said "I'm sorry! I'm sure my family is doing okay."

Jinbe sighs at what he heard, feeling sorry for his crewmate. He knew this man wasn't the only one who missed his family. He wish there was something else he could do for the rest of the crew. It was when Jinbe heard someone behind him. Turning around he sees it was Naruto.

"Naruto, what are you doing this late?" Jinbe asked.

Naruto was quiet for a moment before he says "Boss Jinbe...I was wondering if you could teach me Fish-man Karate."

"What?" Jinbe asked, confused and surprise.

"I know I'm human, but I want learn how to fight as you have," says Naruto. "I want get stronger."

"Why do you want to learn Fish-man Karate Naruto?" Jinbe asked him, curious.

"After what happened to Tiger," Naruto told him. "I determined it's not going tp happened to anyone of my crew again. I want learned how to fight and I think the best person to teach me is you."

"You already a good fighter of your own Naruto," says Jinbe. "Even the Marines are aware of how dangerous your fighting skills are since they places a huge bounty on your head."

It was months ago, the crew receives the new bounties amongst the Sun Pirates. Jinbe's bounty was increased to 250,000,000 berries now that the marines recognizes him a dangerous threat. Yet they were even more shock to learn Naruto has a bounty of his own, a reward of 100,000,000 berries on his head. It would seems Naruto's feat of destroying 12 marine ships has made him a mark man.

"I know I'm good fighter boss Jinbe," said Naruto. "But between the two of us, you're the better fighter. And you probably would done it child play with those marine ships that I sunk. So I'm asking you boss, can you take me in as your student?"

Jinbe stare at Naruto. He recalls the Captain's final words to Naruto before he died. How much Tiger means to Naruto. Finally, he made a decision.

"If I'm going to teach Fish-man Karate Naruto," Jinbe warned him. "You're going had to keep up the results that I'm going to instructed you with. That means no slacking off...am I understood?"

"Crystal clear boss Jinbe!" Naruto happily replied.