East Blue! IV

Arlong and Nami

Tears slowly drop onto the wooden floor and Nami bites back the sobs that are threatening to course through her tired body.

Luffy has to swallow. From what he's heard, the situation is dire and Arlong has a tight grip on Conomi Island. He thinks back to Dawn Island and all the people he's grown to love who are living there in peace, far away from the bustling great city islands young adults prefer to migrate to.

He exhales deeply, removing the infamous hat from his head to put it on his navigator's. "Everything will be alright. We'll sail to your island, see if that fish bastard is gonna leave when you give him the money and if he doesn't..." at that, he grins broadly – dangerously really, "I'm gonna beat him up!" Luffy holds the anger at Arlong back... it wouldn't do any good right now, not when they are still quite a bit away from Conomi Island.

"Do you really want to help me? Arlong and his men are ten times stronger than normal humans and I don't know if..."

"Nami" Luffy's firm voice echoes through the kitchen. The orange haired woman looks up to him. His next words make her want to cry even harder: "We're nakama. I don't care about Arlong's strength. I don't care if I get beaten up. I just wanna help you. Everybody will help you, not just me."

"Yeah, we're gonna help you."

"WAH!" Nami nearly tumbles over. Angrily, she faces Zoro who innocently raids the cupboards for booze. Has he been here the whole time? What the hell?

"Zoro came in about two minutes ago." Luffy explains.

"But we're definitely going to help you." Usopp suddenly says right next to Nami. Shrieking, she finally falls over. "WHAT THE HELL?! Is Sanji hiding somewhere too?!"

All eyes lie on the blond cook who casually decorates a cake. "...huh?" he asks, "Of course I'm in the kitchen, Nami-swan. I'm your cook after all."

"Bu-But you weren't here when Luffy and I came in!" She says utterly confused. Looking back and forth between her fellow crewmates, she notices their equally puzzled expressions. Nami gestures wildly with her arms before she gives up and sighs in defeat.

Usopp pats her on the shoulder. "Going insane too?" he asks as if it's the most natural thing to occur. It probably is on this forsaken ship, the orange haired woman muses silently. Her mood shifts again to seriousness. "You actually want to help me, guys?" Her voice is weak.

"Sure!" Luffy states without hesitation.

"Everything for you, Nami-swan!" Sanji cries with hearty eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." Zoro shrugs.

"Of course the brave Captain Usopp will help you beat those gruesome and terroristic fishmen! I, the Great Captain Usopp, always have my trusty companionable slingshot at my side to fight against the distasteful and worrisome enemies of my crewmates! I have battled fishmen before, you know? Many fishmen have cowered in fear already when they saw that the Great Captain Usopp came to destroy their -?" The sniper suddenly notices the lack of his nakama and his demeanour deflates just as quickly as Fullbody's.

"Goddamn it." He mutters, taking a slice of the cake Sanji's prepared and munches on it disgruntled. Then he walks outside where everybody else is innocently sitting.

"That!" Usopp says, pointing behind him, "Was unnecessary."

"Just like your exaggerated story?" Nami asks, fluttering her eyelashes while tilting her head.

"..."

"Anyways, guys!" Luffy intervenes, "I have to teach you something. It's important." He looks pointedly at Johnny and Yosaku who both begin to pout but leave them be eventually after a bit of persuasion on Sanji's side – namely, chocolate parfaits.

"Yosh! So... Nami, Usopp and Zoro, you remember when I called the nice marine lady, right?"

They nod in unison apart from Sanji who seems quite lost. Well, his eyes flash at the "nice marine lady" bit but otherwise he has no idea what they're talking about. Luffy explains the situation for him, though. He continues by elaborating: "Well, that number I used, 2-2-5-8-8-6-5-7, is called my Identification Number. I don't think we're going to have any new members soon so I'll give yours to you right now just in case."

Zoro's eyes widen slightly. "We're going to have our own numbers? How the hell does that work? You aren't a real marine, are you?"

"I have to agree with mossbrain over there." Sanji says, inhaling smoke.

"Oi, shitty cook –"

"No, I'm not." Luffy cuts the incoming stream of cuss words off before it starts, "Or, well, I shouldn't be. But my gramps has established that my crew is under his custody by giving me this number. I should probably explain it. You see, the first three digits, 2-2-5, are saying that my immediate vice admiral is gramps. Then he somehow managed to make it as though I'm registered in Marineford. Dunno why he did that but that's what the 8-8 is for. Location number. So far so good?"

They make noises of agreement.

"Good. The six after that just means that I'm the captain of this team. And the 5-7 is the number of this crew. That's basically it. You obviously need to have your own version of it as well because we can't blow this cover until we're at least halfway through the first half of the Grandline." Luffy's eyes are distant. He shudders, thinking about Garp and his Fist of Love. He just can't risk the safety of his crew by having a vice admiral haunting them.

The straw hat wearer focuses on the matter again. Luffy looks at Zoro firstly and states: "Your number is 2-2-5-8-8-3-5-7. It's nearly the same as mine but with a three instead of a six. Just means that you're my vice captain." Zoro confirms when he has saved it in his head.

"Yosh. Everybody else has the number 2-2-5-8-8-1-5-7. A "one" for potential leadership. If anyone asks which ranks you have – Zoro is an Ensign and the rest of you are all normal crewmembers. I'm just a captain so it's alright if I have a bunch of no-rank nakama."

"Okay, that sounds a tiny bit harsh." Usopp murmurs.

Luffy ignores him as does practically everybody else at the moment. "That's it. We're going to anchor somewhere where our ship is concealed and then...?" He gives the word to his navigator who blinks a couple of times because she isn't used to making plans for more than one person. Nonetheless, a wave of determination flashes over her face.

"That's right. We're going to anchor at the bay of an abandoned village called Goza. From then on I'll go to Arlong and confirm that I'm back. He's quite excessive in partying so it's probably going to take a while until I can return home and grab the money I've hidden there. You'll wait at my house with my sister Nojiko. I'll tell you where it is when we arrive at Conomi Island. As soon as I have the cash, you're going to stealthily follow me to Arlong Park and if Arlong doesn't leave after I give him the bribe, Luffy will beat him up and the rest of you, including myself, will have to face his crewmates."

Luffy's quite impressed with his nakama's planning skills. He grins brightly and says: "Understood... now that that's out of the way – Sanji, I'm huuuungryyyy."

"What the fuck, shitty captain?! You ate like twelve eggs and fifteen strips of bacon for breakfast!" the cook yells annoyed but he is automatically walking towards the kitchen to prepare food. Talk about fucked up instincts.

They eat lunch without Johnny and Yosaku and to be honest, the Marine Pirates kind of forget about them. Which is a mistake, admittedly, because those bounty hunters are idiotic at best and utterly destructive at worst. But as Luffy cleans up his third plate, with Usopp telling a story which makes Nami accidentally choke on water, Zoro drinking himself silly and Sanji going at the sniper's throat because he made Nami "suffer", they just... forget about their existence.

Johnny and Yosaku are high the next time Zoro sees them.

The swordsman rubs his nose bridge, closes his eyes, breathes calmly in and out before opening them again. Yeah, no. Nothing has changed about the scenery. Johnny is naked, hugging the main mast and Yosaku dances around him, most often swaying drunkenly to the left and giggling like a school girl.

"What the fuck."

Johnny smiles, his sunglasses askew so that red blotched eyes are revealed. "Zoooorooo... Aaaaaniki! We smoked some weird orange tree leaves. They were!" he slurs slowly.

"They were what?" Zoro grumbles amused.

Yosaku answers: "Craaaazyyy! They were craaaaaazyyyy."

"Oh hey Zoro... oh hey guys. What are ya doing?" Luffy curiously asks from the swordsman's side. The green haired man shrugs as he can't actually comprehend the thought process needed to light up some plant that's not at all suited for this purpose.

"Shishishi, it looks like fun. Can I do that too?"

"Nope" the first mate says, popping the "P", "Absolutely not. Maybe they're dying for all we know. Come on, let's... wait far, far away from them until we arrive." And with that, Zoro takes Luffy by the scruff of his coat and drags the confused captain into the kitchen again where Nami, Usopp and Sanji are playing Poker.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to train?" Usopp asks Zoro curiously.

"Well... that was before I saw Johnny and Yosaku high on orange tree leaves."

"What?"

"What?!"

"...What."

With a sigh as heavy as lead Zoro sits down at the table. "Don't ask me." he says, "They always do this kind of shit. Why do you think I parted ways with them? Don't misunderstand me – I love them, they're like my brothers but they are..." He struggles to find the right words. To his luck, he has three nakama who gladly help him.

"Dumb?" Sanji asks, continued by: "weird as fuck?" as suggested by Usopp and ended with a: "simply not suited for the outside world?" by Nami. Of course they are all right. So the swordsman just answers: "Yes."

Contrary to them, Luffy bites his bottom lip and frowns. "I don't know why you're bashing them so much. They're fun!"

Suddenly, a deeply resonating crush can be heard from the deck. The Marine Pirates hurry outside. Johnny and Yosaku have achieved the impossible – they have punched a hole through the thick wooden mast.

"Okay, I see what you mean." Luffy utters dead-panned.

"MEEEEERRYYYY?! WHAT DID YOU DOOOO TO HER?!" Usopp screeches, becoming a vulture in the process, and attacks the two madmen who do not seem to notice the long-nosed teen's attempt at murder.

Nobody actually interferes and, thus, the rest of their travel to Conomi Island is spent observing the spectacle between two high off their asses bounty hunters and a sniper out for vengeance unfold. Bets are made and Luffy wins five thousand beri because he bet Usopp would try and throw them into the sea six times in a row. About half an hour before they dock, Luffy picks up the cylinder-shaped piece of wood that was... eh... "punched out" by either Johnny or Yosaku and quietly rams it back into the hole where it came from. It would do no good if the mast were truly falling onto their heads before they even traversed Reverse Mountain.

The port is watched by two fishmen who angrily glare at their ship until they spot Nami. Then, as if a switch is turned, they relax and grin almost a bit cheeky. No wonder – in the past, Nami has led many men into Arlong's grasp, causing their demise as even the weakest officers of the fishman's crew have enough strength to beat those poor East Bluean bastards.

"Ah, Nami! You came back with... guests?" one of them asks. His skin is tinted green and Zoro can hear Sanji whisper: "Look, isn't that your long-lost cousin?" to the swordsman. Luckily, Roronoa Zoro can be sensitive in certain situations and refrains from showing his opinion about that statement.

"Yep. Those are some Marines I came across. Just wanted to show them my hometown." the orangette answers readily.

"Marines? Them?!" the second fishman huffs and regards Luffy and the rest of the Marine Pirates distastefully, "Do that. Show them Cocoyashi for all I care." It's blatantly obvious how lowly the two fishmen think of them. As if they were easily breakable when desired. Most normal people probably would be, Nami knows they usually are, but Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Sanji are definitely not normal. Hell, ever since she's met them, she doesn't think of herself as normal anymore... which, considering the circumstances, is for the best.

"Oh, yes, I will show them everything on our lovely island, not just Cocoyashi." Nami winks at the half humans and throws in a dark and condescending grin directed at her friends for good measurement. The fish heads return the mimic. Nami seriously should think about becoming an actress, honestly.

The Marine Pirates and the two still high as fuck bounty hunters (who stare in awe at the fishmen as if they are wax figures instead of cruel pirates who could fuck them up in under a minute) follow their navigator wordlessly. Well, Zoro drifts off once before it's decided that he has to hold hands with Luffy as to not get lost.

"Why is Zoro's head all red?" the captain whispers to Sanji who looks entirely too smug.

"Maybe the mosshead has a crush on you."

"I do not." the swordsman murmurs, "I... I just... I didn't have time for dating and... fucking hell, can't you just let go of my hand?!"

Straw Hat blinks curiously. "A crush, huh? Isn't that when somebody really likes somebody else and then the whole seduction thing comes into play?" he asks the cook, not paying any mind to Zoro's plea.

"Yes, my student. Exactly that." Sanji nods wisely, scratching his chin in an exuberant "Old Perverted Sensei" manner.

"Does Zoro really have a crush on me?" Luffy asks the already annoyed-beyond-anything first mate.

Zoro facepalms with the hand that's not occupied being crushed by Luffy's strong grip and lets out a "No." which sounds as if he's seconds away from dying. The cause of his death is either embarrassment or exasperation but, at this point of time, it could be both.

"Huh?!" Luffy gasps, "Why don't you? Don't you think I'm pretty?"

A strangled noise explains that Zoro just died. Yes, Zoro is dead. "I'm officially dead." he thinks, clearly dead. The dead man trips over a stone because his sight is obscured by his facepalming action. He crashes into Nami's back, nearly sending her down as well. Luckily, they have passed every fishman officer stationed at the bay.

"Idiots! Luffy, quit trolling around. Sanji, stop giving him ideas and Zoro..." Nami glares at the green haired man who stands up from the ground and still has a tomato coloured face, "stop being such a virgin!"

Zoro wants to protest but one hit by Nami's "Fist of I Can't Believe You Are Called A Demon, You Blushing Mess" silences him.

They walk through Goza, abandoned by the villagers who survived Arlong's raid. Nami remembers when it used to be bustling with life, children playing in the streets and friendly adults greeting her even though they knew about her affiliations with Arlong's crew. They are wary now and cower in fear when they spot her. She hopes it won't be like that any longer when she frees them of the pirates and corrupt marines inhabiting Conomi.

About a hundred metres away from a large building she halts in her tracks. "Well, guys. We're going to part ways right here. Just follow the street and you should come to a house with tangerine trees in the backyard. Mention that you're my friends and Nojiko or Genzo will let you in. Alright, see you!"

"Bye, Nami-swaaaaan!" Sanji dances more than he says it.

The rest of them bid their farewell to the navigator as well, albeit less extravagantly, and with that done, they head off to Nami's home.

The woman watches them depart, Zoro's, Luffy's, Usopp's and Sanji's backs facing her. She can't help but feel as if she has forgotten something. Oh, well, for now it can't be as important as her mission. She rubs her tattoo, draws in a deep breath, and walks towards the entrance of Arlong Park.

A big iron fence with a fancy engraving towers her soon. She has never understood why a pirate would want to live like royalty because, for her, piracy has always meant freedom on the sea and not being bunked up on a poor island. Arlong isn't like most pirates, she guesses, seeing as the man is oftentimes too irrational to properly lead his crew. Long nights of alcohol consummation, an ingrained sense of greed and a racist ideology, which can apparently be bent at any given time, are what Nami associates with the saw shark fishman... when she's being generous.

When she isn't, then she would describe him as an insufferable asshole with narcissistic tendencies that isn't even charming enough that anybody should feel the need to follow him. Also, he seems to like her and this, in itself, is really disturbing.

After a last mental encouragement, Nami opens the gate. She hears loud music coming from the inside of the large building. Of course. Like she has assumed, Arlong is having a party... again... before she has even officially returned. He does that all the time – throwing parties for the weirdest reasons – and everybody knows it's only an excuse to drink alcohol. That man has a problem. He's worse than Zoro and Zoro is a borderline alcoholic.

"Woah, Nami!" one of the fishmen cries and presses invisible tits on his chest together. His hair is extremely ruffled and Kensuke, so his name, smells like rotten eggs. The woman frowns in response, blatantly dismissing his innuendos (unluckily for the lad, everyone does).

"Nami, you're finally back!" Hatchan smiles genuinely. If there is a single member in this shitty crew who's redeemable, it's him. The navigator lets him lead her towards the main room and can't help the chuckle escaping her mouth at the uncomfortable quiet confession her companion voices: "Arlong's been drinking for five days straight. Thirteen people have passed out already... and we don't even know what we're celebrating."

She grins. "Sounds just like something he'd do."

Hatchan scratches his prickly mane. "It does, doesn't it? Mah, at least he's refrained from torturing the villagers after that one incident yesterday."

"What happened?" Nami asks. A strange foreboding feeling tangles her stomach into knots. What could possibly stop somebody as impulsive and bloodthirsty as Arlong from further inflicting pain onto Conami Island's people?

The octopus averts his eyes in shame. They stop in the middle of the hallway where nobody can overhear them. "I..." he begins, searching for the right words to say to the female pirate, "I really wanted to stop him... but you know how he gets when he hasn't seen blood in half a month. It was... kind of terrifying for all of us. Even Arlong noticed how sickened the others were and he's been waiting for the horror to calm down."

"I repeat" Nami's voice lowers dangerously. Hatchan flinches involuntarily at the cold tone. "What happened?!"

Her opponent swallows. He answers: "Shioyaki found a boy outside of the gates. He's one of the survivors of Goza" at that, Nami draws in a sharp breath, "and he wanted to avenge his father. Arlong was drunk and proposed to the boy that he could kill him if he... if he... severed off one of his arms with Arlong's discarded saw teeth. Naturally, the kid didn't and just stormed at him with a knife in his hand... and then Arlong caught the child... oh god, Nami – it was horrible!"

Hatchan shudders but continues: "He said to this poor child that if he doesn't do it, he will. You can imagine what happened afterwards but it was slow... three hours long."

Nami gasps shocked. She's always known that her "captain" is cruel, unnecessarily so, but that he would torture a child for three hours?! No – Arlong usually kills off adults quickly, makes everybody fear him with his threats and robs them blank of any possessions they have. She has never seen him doing the same with children. They are, as he has stated himself, "future money makers" and are left alone, frightened out of their minds.

She fights back tears. Would she have been able to save the boy? If only she'd been faster... no, she thinks, it doesn't make her guilty of any offense because she didn't know what would occur but she feels utterly shitty nonetheless. And that bastard of a captain?! He's partying like there's no tomorrow, never minding the boy's blood on his hands.

"I don't know if it makes any difference but... he's alive." Hatchan says, throwing Nami out of her thought process.

"He survived that?"

The octopus grins bitterly. "I may or may not have been able to stop the bleeding in time. It's not yet decided whether or not he pulls through. At the moment, he's with your sister. I suppose your home is one of the safer places to hide him. Arlong trusts you enough that he doesn't go there."

Nami slightly gapes at the fishman in disbelief. Seconds of silence later, her hardened gaze warms up a bit. "Thank you." she says, meaning it one hundred percent.

Hatchan nods, flushed at the unusual praise, and they open up the door to the main room where Arlong is sitting, like the king he thinks he is, on a throne. Nami steels herself before she faces the man. It wouldn't do any good if she's angry because of the sheer inhumanity the saw shark fishman has performed.

She sees drunken men everywhere and the whole room is in a state of chaos. Everything reeks of the gone by hours of partying. Arlong himself has a bottle of sake in his hand. He's laughing at some joke one of his underlings tells. All in all, if Hatchan hadn't explained the situation, she wouldn't have noticed the little fearful glances even the most human-hating ones in the crew direct at their captain.

Nami casually strolls to the throne. It isn't long before Arlong throws a blue-skinned arm around her and drags her right into the middle of the mess. "My navigator! Finally decided to come back, eh?" the saw shark fishman slurs. Nami just laughs in agreement.

"Not for long, Arlong. My last raid was pretty successful. I'm going to buy back Cocoyashi today!" she says and hopes that it isn't enough for him to have an anger fit.

It isn't, luckily. He just chuckles and asks: "Is that so? Mah, well, then that's just how it is! Right, men?!" His men chorus back: "Aye, captain!"

She is being easily lured into the festivities and, thus, doesn't pay any attention to Arlong's temporary retreat. "Have to take a piss." he declares.

"Nezumi? ...yeah, the house with the orange trees. Don't disappoint me." Arlong says, a mean glint in his eyes as he hangs up on the marine.

...

In the meantime, Luffy and co arrive at a small but nice residence. One can spot gigantic orange trees forming four rows in the backyard. It's a good home for children, the captain decides and thinks back to Dadan's quite... rowdy hut. He would have liked to spend his childhood here.

Sanji seems to be of the same opinion as his lips carry a slight albeit melancholic smile.

Ever the gentleman, he offers to knock on the door. Three times sharp – it opens up just about fifteen seconds later to reveal an attractive young woman with blue hair and tan skin. She looks absolutely fierce; the tattoos on her arm and across her collarbones only add to her charm.

Instantly, as if Amour's arrow had hit the man, Sanji's heart flutters when he takes in the woman's beauty and intelligence showing in her eyes. Blood dribbles from his nose... well, Nami's sister has also quite nice curves.

"Who the hell are you and what do ya want?" she asks in a no-nonsense manner. Nojiko, so her name, doesn't like the blond's perverted look.

"I love you." he says and has promptly to deal with a door hitting his nose.

Zoro and Usopp shake their heads disappointedly and Luffy just digs in his nose. The captain of the Marines neither understands his cook's confession nor Nami's sister's reaction... maybe he's better off that way – otherwise he'd have to deal with the second-hand embarrassment which swordsman and sniper alike feel right now.

"Couldn't you just have... I don't know... treated her like a normal human being?" the green haired man grumbles, rubbing his nose bridge in aggravation.

Sanji sends him a dark glance and answers: "I don't want to hear anything at all from you, virgin moss!"

"Well, better being a virgin than an absolute creep!" Zoro retorts dangerously close to pulling out Wado Ichimonji.

"What did you just say, mossbrain?!"

Usopp watches in fascination as a dark aura of doom wafts from every pore of Sanji's body... has he missed something? Is the cook Satan? Does he have to fear for his life or soul if he continues travelling with Zoro who's akin to a demon and Sanji who, as he has established inside his head, is Satan?

"Uh, guys?" Luffy asks but Sanji and Zoro don't listen to him and Usopp has an internal crisis... again. It's the fifth since he's joined and he's only been on the ship for a week and a half.

"Guys?" the captain tries his luck once more. His efforts are futile and Sanji aims a kick at the swordsman who swiftly blocks it with Wado.

"Guys."

The three Marines simultaneously stop in their tracks and turn to their captain. Luffy stands with his hands on his hips next to an amused Nojiko. "While you had fun, I explained the situation to Nojiko. Can we finally go inside or do you want to wait here?" the straw hat wearer states and sighs when dumbfounded expressions meet him. Every time he shows just a tad bit of decency or common sense, he is the one regarded as weird. Luffy doesn't pout, no, but he's pretty close.

They follow Luffy's suggestion and soon, the five of them including Nojiko sit down at the homey old wooden table in the clean citrus-smelling kitchen.

"So" the woman gestures at them, "You're Nami's friends?"

"Y-yeah. Uh, sorry Miss...?" Sanji stutters.

"Nojiko. Just Nojiko."

"Eh... Miss Nojiko, I'm deeply sorry for my previous behaviour. It's just that I've rarely ever seen a beauty such as you here in East Blue!" he declares, dramatically pulling a rose out of his suit jacket's pocket.

Usopp snorts and whispers to the swordsman next to him: "Doesn't he say that like every time he sees a fairly attractive girl?"
"Yeah, when I was sober back at the Baratie I even counted how many times he's told somebody the same thing."

"And?" the long-nosed teen demands intrigued.

"Fourteen times. He had a rose for every single one of them, including one for that guy who asked if he could buy one for his boyfriend." Zoro replies, eyeing the suspiciously intact petals of the flower which is now in Nojiko's hands.

"Damn." the slingshot user says impressed.

Nojiko lays the flower down onto the table in front of her. "You're an odd bunch. As I've understood it, you're the captain?" she questions, pointing at Luffy.

Straw Hat nods. "Yeah, I'm Monkey D. Luffy. That's my first mate and lost samurai, Roronoa Zoro."

"I'm not that bad at directions." Zoro intervenes with a frowning face.

Usopp sweat-drops. "Mate. You had to hold hands with Luffy or else you'd have wandered off."

"Well, the road was downright mean and anybody could have accidentally taken the wrong path." the swordsman defends himself and his honour. Today, he has already been outed as a virgin. He doesn't need a second round of mockery directed at him.

His long-nosed crewmate will have none of Zoro's miserably bad excuses. With a single sentence, he absolutely shatters the elder's pride: "The road was straight and there weren't any turnings – you were literally about to head off into a forest."

Zoro crosses his arms and sinks down into the cushion. He is silent after that.

"Shishishi!" Luffy chuckles at his friend's misery dutifully, as any friend should, and continues the introductions: "You've already met Sanji, our cook and... I don't know... what's the word? Ah, yeah, he's our ladyboy!"

"PFFFT." Usopp splutters.

"You confused gentleman with ladyboy." Sanji says calmly.

"Oh. OH! Sorry, hehe!" Luffy apologizes sheepishly to which the cook responds with: "It's alright, my student. A rookie mistake, really."

"WAIT! What the hell do you teach our captain?!"

"The basics." the swirly-eyebrowed man says.

Nojiko giggles lightly behind her hand.

"Oh, yeah. That's Usopp." Luffy finishes the introduction.

"Wow. Thanks for the nice attributes." Usopp mumbles sarcastically.

The blue haired woman files them in on Nami's and her current living situation and she also elaborates on why there's a heavily injured kid in her sister's bed. Of course, this brings the mood down a notch but afterwards, when everything that's left is to wait for Nami, she finds out how those pirates could so easily sneak their way into the usually unimpressed navigator's heart. Nojiko herself isn't the most trusting person, not after Bell-mère's death, but if she hadn't built up a stable living (apart from the ongoing fishmen invasion) she'd be lured into following them.

She bets they bring out the best in Nami – the fierceness and strength she hides behind coy smiles.

Rustling noises and a groan throw her off her musings. She swiftly makes her way to the bed in which the young boy lies. He's shuddering, a horrified look fixated on the missing arm.

"You're awake?" Nojiko asks with her hands on her hips.

He grits his teeth before barking out: "Where am I?! What happened to Arlong?"

"Arlong? Pah! What do you think happened to him? Nothing, of course. He's still drinking merrily with his crew. Good load the stunt you pulled has done..."

The boy clenches his teeth and resolves to silently staring at the single hand he still possesses. "And what are we gonna do about him? We have to do something!" he hisses after moments of silence.

"You dumb brat have done enough. There's no we in this. Nami will buy the village and there's that." Nojiko replies with crossed arms and a stern look crossing her face.

"Buy the village?!" the kid, Chabo his name, cries in disbelief, "You wanna give that fish bastard money after all he's done? Are you crazy?!"

"I'll not take away everything Nami has fought for. For eight years, she's been fighting daily, refusing to be helped and collecting money for our island. I'm not saying it's a satisfying solution because it's fucking not! But if it's enough to drive Arlong away I won't be complaining. I just want him gone."

Chabo is quiet after this and resigns himself to simply staring at the wooden ceiling above. The Marine Pirates don't try to speak to him. They know that, for as long as Arlong still reigns over Conomi, the boy won't listen to anything anyone will tell him.

For twenty minutes, the only sound made comes from the ticking clock on the wall.

The peace doesn't last forever, though. It never does. Heavy footsteps march towards the house, not trying to be subtle at all. Luffy looks up from his position, sipping on a mug filled with Nojiko's homemade tangerine juice. When the door is forcefully kicked open and marines stumble into the room, he takes a large gulp. Sanji stiffens unnoticeably, blowing a wad of smoke out of the window, Zoro looks as if he's sleeping but the rest of the Marines know that he's wide awake from the way his fingers circle his single remaining sword and Usopp flinches only at the harsh sound. But even he doesn't find it in himself to be scared of those unwelcome guests – their boss looks ridiculously like a rat, after all. There isn't much one could describe as scary as even the guns are rusty and old as if this marine branch hadn't received new weaponry in nearly a decade... Luffy thinks of Nojiko's words. Arlong seems to have a tight grip on Conomi's law enforcement, not just on the villagers themselves.

"I'm marine Captain Nezumi, 16th branch of East Blue. It has come to my attention that there are supposed stolen goods hidden on this property!" the rodent-like man smugly declares.

Luffy can't help but grin slightly when he stands up and walks towards Nezumi. No drop of Conqueror's Haki comes into play, nonetheless the marine Captain and his crew subconsciously take a step back at the approaching figure.

"Ah, yo, fellow Captain!" the straw hat wearer greets, waving cheerfully, "I'm Marine captain Monkey D. Luffy, acting under the 88th branch. As per Marine Codex Paragraph 12, Article 2: Stolen goods can be claimed as the marine's property if they cannot be traced back to their original owners. I have claimed those goods and because Nami, one of my crewmembers, has found them on pirate ships, they automatically belong to us anyways." Luffy finishes and takes another swig of his juice.

Nezumi recoils. "T-The 88th?! Under which vice admiral are you?" he whimpers.

"Vice admiral Garp."

Those words work like magic – a repelling spell that lets the recipient feel the inexplicable need to flee and hide away as far as possible. Luffy wholeheartedly understands what must be going on in Nezumi's head at this moment. His gramps is a force to be reckoned with, sometimes men would much rather fight Sengoku than risk upsetting Garp the Fist... Luffy sure as hell doesn't want to be present when the whole Marine/marine thing finally blows up.

"G-G-Garp, you say?! Oh. Then we'll just... we'll head back to the base, Captain Monkey! Goodbye, farewell!" the marine stutters helplessly.

"Huh? You wanna go already? What about a little talk – Marine captain to marine Captain?" Luffy asks, childishly pouting, "I mean there are so many questions I have for you! Like, for example, why's there a dangerous pirate crew on the island? Aren't you responsible for such cases? My crewmember Nami and her civilian sister Nojiko here are very trusty sources and both of them told me that Arlong of the former Sun Pirates terrorizes Conomi. And you know what else they told me?"

It's eerily silent now. The clock seems to have stopped working as nobody hears anything but their own hearts beating crassly against their ribcages. What is it that makes this young man, as innocent as he came across earlier, still everything in its wake? Air saturated with electricity calls out an upcoming storm. Nojiko knows it's bullshit – she has checked the weather and while she's no Nami she had time to pick up certain skills from her sibling.

Her eyes widen when she sees the dark red captain's coat flutter around Luffy's ankle ever so slightly.

"I... I had no idea? Arlong, you say? I didn't... if I did I would have... you have to believe me! Eek!" Captain Nezumi wheezes as a lazy flick made by Straw Hat's finger sends his marine hat flying.

Suddenly, the spell is broken in the exact moment when Luffy's fist connects with his palm. "Ah! You didn't have any idea about the fish face? Okay, welp, no wonder nothing's been done about him and his crew then!" He laughs and the blue haired woman frowns. Is he really believing that idiot?

Luffy energetically points at Nezumi, causing the man to stumble backwards into his shell-shocked underlings. "Luckily, you know about Arlong now. That means you can act, right? How about we wait for my crewmate and walk with her back to those pirates' base? You see, she thought you knew about Arlong all along and didn't do anything. That's why she had to make a deal with him. Can you imagine? Having to make a deal with a pirate to free your homeland while marines don't serve justice and just sit on their big fat asses?" His grin turns sinister, "I'm glad it's not like that."

Nezumi shakes and any bravado which somehow survived up until this moment is, like his hat, swept away by Luffy's doings.

"O-Of course, Sir!" he says but his eyes betray him. They're brimming with fear.

"Good, nice! Hey, Nojiko, you have any more juice for those guys?" Luffy asks, meaning the marines, "Cause they don't look so well. Must be the weather or something."

Nojiko never would have guessed she'd end up sitting with Marines and marines alike at a much too small kitchen table, serving tangerine juice and waiting for her sister to turn up. But here she is. She should be angry about Nezumi and his lackeys' presence... but all she feels is giddiness for the upcoming battle. There'll be no peaceful departure between Conomi and the fishmen (should Arlong have actually agreed to the deal – which he wouldn't have as shown by the readiness to send government lapdogs).

She's oddly satisfied.

A young boy's mouth still hangs slack-jawed at what had occurred. He casts a look at the stump that is left of his arm and swallows down the urge to tear up.

...

Nami stretches as soon as she's out of Arlong Park. Goddamn, the bastard was really happy to see her – so much so that she couldn't escape the never-ending party earlier. However, after three mugs of beer and a couple of shared stories, she'd been able to make a beeline straight out of this hellhole.

Her neck cracks. Oof, she'll have to ask Sanji for a massage after everything's done.

With her staff leisurely dancing between her deft fingers (trained by years of pick-pocketing), the orangette heads to her home. It's not a long walk until she stands in front of the withered door which she opens gently.

Then she blinks at the scene greeting her. Luffy, Usopp and three real marines play Uno with each other. Alright? "Eh, hi. Who are your new... friends, captain?" she sweetly inquires to override her growing need for another mug of alcohol. She really shouldn't be astonished at the ridiculousness of events when she's part of the most ridiculous crew around this side of the Earth but somehow, she still is to some degree.

"Nami!" she hears Nojiko's voice before toppling over as her sister's strong arms wrap around her waist. What is it with people making her nearly fall over today?

"Captain Nezumi said he really wants to help beat Arlong's crew. He didn't know they were even here! Isn't that weird, Nami? Those guys are so funny!" the Marine captain boasts loudly, cheerily patting a white-faced marine with rodent resemblance on the back. Nezumi tries to smile sheepishly but it comes out as fairly forced.

"Oh, they didn't know Arlong's here?" Nami asks, adorably smiling, "Well, that's odd for sure! It's a relief they do so now, isn't it? Why did they come in the first place?"

Usopp perks up, shrugging. "They came around to ask about the money."

"...coincidentally on the same day as you finally being able to pay the sum, Nami-swan!" the swirly-browed cook intervenes and blows, for good measure, a wad of tobacco smoke in the marines' directions.

"Also, really coincidentally, they came when you were conveniently gone." The Marine's first mate says in his rough voice, causing nearby marines to shy away. They hadn't even known that the swordsman is awake.

"Like I said!" Luffy nods, "They're really funny, those guys!"

"Oh, well... so, are we set to destroy Arlong Park?" Nami demands, her face split into what the Marines define as a Zoro's-Ready-For-Slaughter smile – however, on the navigator's visage it's bone-chilling opposed to just goose bump-raising. She's pissed and who wouldn't be in her situation? Of course, levelling the fishmen's base will be much more satisfying than giving them the ransom but she has worked her fucking ass off daily to get to a hundred million beri. Naturally, she's livid that her efforts will be ultimately in vain.

That's not to say that she won't enjoy whacking some sense into their thick fish skulls.

"Yosh, I think we're ready. What about you and your crew, Captain?" Luffy pats the marine's shoulder as if they're the best of friends. Nezumi's eyes are teary and he can't even bring himself to answer verbally. He just nods, resigned to his fate, and motions his men (who're looking equally unwell) to follow the Marine Pirates' captain.

Nojiko flashes her sister thumbs up. She has absolute faith in Nami and her friends. "Rob 'em blank, sis!" she calls out, laughing when the good old beri-eyed expression makes an appearance on the orangette's face.

Soon, Chabo and Nojiko are the only ones in the small house. Countless mugs sit on the table and on the floor and the inked woman lets out a soft groan. Where the hell is Genzo when you need him? Honestly, now she has to clean up all of this bullshit without any help!

"D'ya really think they can beat Arlong?"

Nojiko doesn't still in her steps as she picks up a half full cup. "Brat" she says loud enough for him to hear, "That's my sister and her actual friends we're talking about! I'd be surprised if a single piece of Arlong Park is standing after today."

Chabo may not answer but Nojiko's instinct tells her he can't quite believe her words yet. Well, he'll just have to wait and see then.

...

The Marines and marines are now directly in front of the iron gates of Arlong's base. "Do we... do we ring the bell?" a white-clad cadet asks uncertainly, eyeing the button distrustfully.

POW

"Ah, okay, understandable, have a nice day." he answers himself when Luffy flicks the gate out of its hinges.

"What the hell? Who are you?!" Kensuke cries and when he spots Nami amongst the crowd, he yet again makes the crude gesture – pressing invisible boobs together and all that.

"Seriously?!" she growls, "You're still doing that even when I come with a whole cavalry?!"

"Yeah, Nami-swan's right! What is wrong with you, vulgar fish face?!" Sanji asks, casting a dark face at the display.

Usopp turns to Zoro who rubs his nose bridge in aggravation. The sniper looks at him sympathetically. "The irony's painful." the swordsman states and sighs when the love-cook produces yet another rose out of practically nowhere, dancing around their navigator as a crumpled fishman lies on the ground next to him.

Luffy meanwhile blinks at the huge building. Huh. Why would anyone trade a ship for... this?

"Hey, guys, you get the others. I'm gonna grab that Arshlong-Boss-Man!" he tells them and doesn't wait for an answer as he wanders into the fishmen's territory. His boots clack on the unbelievingly polished tiles but he also perceives music filtering through the large door at the end of the corridor. Luffy doesn't hesitate. He marches into the room, watching over the scene. He's strangely reminded of that weird clown guy and his crew as he observes men swaying back and forth. Well, at least no crewmembers are killed by their captain... that's a plus point, right?

"AH!" a startled yelp tones from a saw shark fishman when he spots Luffy at the entrance arch. The Marine captain tilts his head. Isn't that already the one he's looking for? Great! He didn't even have to search that long. Happily, he goes up to the pirates' boss and casually hauls him out of the window. He feels his nakama sweat-dropping behind him (why do they always do that?) and he uses his gum gum fruit to follow Arlong.

Nami snorts under her breath. "Typical." she says and gets three nods and dozens of disbelieving stares as reactions. When she turns her head, she's faced with Hatchan's face. For a moment, she doesn't know what to do but then she gives him the choice: "Either you go now and will be spared or you stay and Zoro's going to handle you. You're the only one I've ever liked, you know?"

Hatchan's eyes soften. He sighs heavily. "Well, you know how loyal I am, Nami. I've dug this grave myself – if I lose, I lose. If I win, I win. Just know that I don't hold this against you. I've seen it coming ever since you started robbing other pirates."

"I... understand." the woman croaks, bitterness on her tongue.

"So you're a swordsman or what?" Zoro chimes in, prepping Wado Ichimonji for an upcoming battle. The octopus makes an agreeing noise and unsheathes his own swords – all six of them. "Roronoa Zoro, I've heard a lot about you! Let's do this." are his words as he goes into an opening stance.

"Sure, takoyaki." the first mate playfully answers, devilish smirk on display.

In the meantime, Sanji, Nami and Usopp each find themselves a respective enemy and the marines hesitantly support them with all their measly might.

...

Luffy crosses his arms, staring at Arlong expectantly. The backyard in which they landed has a great pool a bit farther away from where they both stand, staring one another down with equal determination.

"Who the hell are you? You dare coming here, clad like old Gold Roger, and invade my headquarters... yet I don't have a fucking clue who you are." the saw shark fishman proclaims with his previous drunkenness gone.

"Me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy, Marine captain."

"A marine Captain? You?! You look as if you'd fall over if wind blew too hard. Shahahaha!" Arlong laughs at his own shitty joke and Luffy joins in with a happy "Shishishi!", not caring how he's being dragged through the mud.

Arlong's laughter gradually decreases until he's completely silent. Suddenly, his eyes hyper-focus on Luffy. "Monkey D. Luffy, huh? Now I have a name to work with. I don't know why you are here, though. Enlighten me."

"Sure. I'm here because you sent rat face and his men to Nami's house." Luffy loftily says.

"Nami, huh? Should have known she'd try another coup but after the last ones went so shitty I'd anticipated she'd at least send someone who'll last more than two seconds. Shahahaha!"

Once again, Arlong's bellowing cackles aren't the only ones in the garden. The Marine captain's signature "Shishishi" follows after them, letting the fishman still in his tracks. Why is that shrimp laughing? Is he suicidal or just a jackass who thinks he actually has a chance? If it's the latter, the blue-skinned man will have to show him how genetic superiority works... Arlong's mouth corners draw up enough for dangerously sharp teeth to glint in the sunlight.

Look at that dumb human! – the fishman thinks ecstatically – The boy's eyes are closed, for god's sake! Why the hell did Nami believe someone who'd make such a rookie mistake when facing an opponent would win against him?! He's reigned over Conomi Island for nearly a decade and before that, he's sailed with legends like Fisher Tiger. Arlong is unstoppable and his crew? His crew is just as notorious as he is!

Akin to a torpedo, Arlong all of a sudden dashes forward, movement too fast to track with East Bluean eyes. His maw opens, wide and menacing as it thirsts for fresh blood... and blood it will get, along with flesh and sinew. This boy, not yet a fully grown man, will be torn apart in a horrible way – but in a way someone as him, who dares to emit such a high and mighty attitude when standing right in front of one of the most cruel pirates on the world, deserves!

Saw shark teeth click shut. Naturally, he waits for his senses to be clouded by copper in his mouth and sweet screams in his ears.

But neither the former nor the latter is the case.

Instead, Arlong's teeth painfully click shut on air and what he hears has him stunned.

"Oof, and there I thought you actually weren't really all that bad. Only an act so far, huh?" the boy muses, body completely intact. Arlong whips around to stare at the infiltrator – the unharmed and sheepishly blinking infiltrator.

"How-?!"

Hissing, Arlong suppresses his astonishment from leaking out. That stupid Straw Hat won't get the satisfaction of seeing him splutter. Most likely, it was just a fluke anyways. Or the alcohol. It's the liqueur, the fishman decides.

There's no way a human could actually be faster – or better in any regard, really – than him!

Without deigning the red-coated menace a verbal affirmation, the fishman storms into his direction again, even faster than before in case the boy really somehow managed to dodge his first attack.

Victory is near, Arlong knows –

- but his knowledge is false. His eyes follow Luffy's movements and, to his utter bewilderment, just as his maw is about to tear into the brat, Straw Hat inches slightly away. Just enough for Arlong to fly past him and land crashing nose-first into the building.

"That cat guy had a lot more speed on him than you! Were you really a Sun Pirate? Cuz you sure don't seem like it."

Arlong pries himself out of cement and venomously spits: "What would a disgusting human know about the Sun Pirates, huh?!"

Luffy's smile crumbles instantly, dissolving to reveal serious eyes. "I don't know much, really. But my gramps told me about Fisher Tiger. That's why I can see how far you're away from your captain's ideas."

The fishman doesn't want to listen to the Marine. He jumps right into action again. Again and again, he fails to slit the boy open. Even the fishman karate moves he just throws out in desperation are dodged easily. Way too easy.

"You sat in East Blue for the last ten years. What did'ya expect? To become better here than you were on the Grandline?" the straw hat wearer asks, clutching his headwear with one hand while thrusting his upper body backwards to avoid being decapitated.

"Shut the fuck up, you little bitch!" Arlong roars, blindly stabbing with his sharp, haki-blackened nose. He doesn't land a single hit.

Luffy grabs the man's arm, twists it harshly until the saw shark fishman's stomach hits the tiled ground, and then he lets himself sit on Arlong's back. The older pirate captain immediately starts kicking, clawing, simply everything to free himself from the mortifying position underneath that brat's ass – to no avail. He remembers people in white with odd hair and bubble glass shielding their heads. "Have you fun looking down on me?!" he barks out with a hateful sneer.

"Hm?"

"I said HAVE YOU GODDAMN FUN LOOKING DOWN ON ME, YOU FUCKING HUMAN?! It's always the same with you – everyone of you! Always looking down on us fishmen like we're inferior. We aren't!" Arlong yells, blood rushing to his head and colouring it a violent violet.

The Marine captain hums and muses with a distorted face (the thinking-face he hasn't adorned in a while): "I know. You aren't infe-infra-infest-roar. But you aren't super-roar either! You're cool... well, not you. But fishmen – they're pretty awesome."

A bitter snort accompanies Arlong's answer. "As if a human like you could feel companionship when you're faced with fishmen. I've seen people like you often – talking like they know jack shit and when they see a real fishman, you know what people like you do? They scream and run away."

"...you're a fake fishman?"

"NO, YOU BRAT!"

Luffy flicks Arlong's forehead. "I don't care what you look like. As long as you don't hurt my nakama or kill innocent villagers, you're fine in my eyes."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, dumb human."

The Marine captain jumps from his opponent's back, frowning as he crosses his arms. "So... you think humans are weaker than fishmen?"

Arlong heaves himself up from the floor, brushes off dust and glares at the boy viciously. He snarls: "Of course they are! Us fishmen are ten times stronger than your weak-ass race."

"Huh? Then why didn't you beat me already?"

"That's because I wasn't sober yet!" the man exclaims, "But I am now. You versus me – I'm not holding back anymore, Straw Hat!"

"Shishishi, good! Come on!"

Luffy prepares himself for the second round of onslaughts. He isn't disappointed because not even three seconds later, Arlong springs into action. Shark on darts after shark on darts after shark on darts; while the repertoire of attacks is very limited, the fishman's growing enthusiastic. Akin to a shark that rushes towards blood in the water, the pirate flings himself towards Luffy in a breakneck speed which has at least tripled from the initial rather lame velocity.

Rubbery mouth stretching into an incredibly large smile, Luffy decides to strike back. After all, what's the fun in not reciprocating the sentiment? What did that guy say? Ten times stronger than a normal man? Very well – that's what he's going to get!

In the exact moment in which Arlong's nose is just about to touch his chest, Luffy's black-as-the-night fist burrows itself in the other's smelling organ. It crunches sickeningly but the straw-hatted pirate knows with a quick check that the fishman is still alive... barely, though.

...seriously?!

"Shit, really? Again?! Why does this always happen to me? I thought you were stronger!" the Marine asks indignantly as he walks to Arlong's crumpled body. Oh, holy... That doesn't look too good. And he's unconscious. A wave of dread and panic floods Luffy's brain.

"NAMI? WHAT DO I DO IF SOMEBODY'S NOSE IS IN THEIR EYE?"

The orangette navigator, frazzled, sweaty and harshly breathing, peeps out of the window in confusion. She demands: "What did you –" but then she halts due to the disgusting sight on the terrace, "What the hell?! Ew! Alright, just... MARINE GUY, CALL A FUCKING DOCTOR... NO, NOT FOR LUFFY. ARLONG'S, LIKE, ALL BLOODY AND SHIT."

Luffy calls cautiously: "I'M SORRY, NAMI! I DIDN'T MEAN TO OVERDO IT!" when his crewmate's pretty face vanishes inside the house again. He kneels next to the mess that is Arlong when, suddenly, a rattling breathing sound lets his attention snap to the fishman under him.

"W-Why... don't you... end it?" Arlong rasps out. Cough. Blood splatters. Another cough. Luffy grimaces, fiddling with the hem of his coat.

"I don't wanna kill people. That's not the way I do things." the teenager replies.

Arlong snorts, letting even more red liquid squirt out of the cave. He whispers: "Not the way... you do things... huh. What a... what a naive idiot you... you are." His eyes roll up and his head lolls back, indicating that he's fallen unconscious again. Luffy bites his lip, frowning at his enemy's parting words.

The battle of Arlong Park is a short one. For all those years the fishman has terrorized Conomi Island, the end result is bittersweet when Arlong's out cold but still breathing body is carried to a marine ship after having been treated by the local doctor.

...

"It's over..."

"Yes."

"My captain trains us, did you know that? He trains me too." Nami speaks in a low voice, gaze far off, directed at the sunset. Currently, Genzo's conversing with Luffy in her childhood home – something about treating her right, basically giving the Marine captain the so-called shovel talk. In her opinion, this is absolutely unnecessary... but tell that a man who's pretty much been her father all of her life. Needless to say, Genzo still went ahead and dragged Luffy by his ear off to the depths of their cellar.

Nami has never seen her captain look so terrified.

Nojiko hums in appreciation at her sister's claim. "It's good you do! You can't survive on sneak attacks alone if you travel with those mad lads."

"I..." the orangette pauses, inhales before she continues: "I kind of regret it – I mean, not training before. Can you guess how many fishmen I've fought against at Arlong Park? Four. And I won every single time. It's been less than two weeks and I'm already at least twice as strong as I was without training. I even... I even sometimes see attacks before they even happen. Those are just glances and far in between but nevertheless... Nojiko"

The woman grits her teeth. Her sister's mouth opens slightly when she spots tears running down Nami's face, making it blotchy and red. "Was I... was I really so weak before?!"

Her fingers dig harshly into her Arlong crew tattoo.

"Did I make everyone suffer so long for nothing?! He wouldn't have given up our island... that asshole, that absolute bastard. He even sent fucking marines to our home! If I had... if I had trained harder, become stronger on my own..." she breaks off, a pathetic whine forcing itself out of her throat.

"No! You did nothing wrong. If anything – we did." Nojiko intercepts, drawing her sister closer to her. "We – the villagers, Genzo and I – we saw what you were doing. We saw how hard you struggled to hold everything together. We didn't do anything! We could have trained too! We could have supported you more... we could have done so much more than we did. I'm... I'm so sorry, Nami."

Blue and orange hair whirls in the wind and for a long time, both women just hold each other and heal.

Luffy, in the meantime, quietly retreats into Nami's house again with a small smile gracing his lips, so unlike his usually booming laughter and D-shaped grins. There are celebrations, mostly held by villagers, marines and the other Marines (with Usopp crying tales into the heated crowd, Zoro drinking his head off and Sanji loitering around the ladies and catering to every need for food there is), but although the food seems appetizing (especially the raw ham melon... god, he'll definitely have a couple of those later), the pirate captain doesn't quite want to join the festivities yet.

For one, he had to check on his navigator. She'll be alright – Nami is nakama, after all, and every single one of his nakama is really tough. However, that doesn't mean he isn't there to lend a shoulder if the woman needs it. From the looks of it, she's taken care of for now.

Good.

That's good... "I-I promise I didn't do anything, Genzo-san!" Luffy nervously declares, holding his arms up to placate the windmill-wearing man who glares daggers at him.

"Are you sure, Luffy-san? I thought I saw you snooping on my girls." He squints. Luffy begins to sweat. Why has Sanji explained things like shovel talk and protective father figures to him?! Why couldn't his innocence have been prev-prevu-priwailed?!

"N-No! I just checked to see if everything's right!" His arms are flailing wildly. How does someone calm down middle-aged men? Gramps has only taught him about calming down friends and "the ladies"(even though he still doesn't quite understand the difference because Nami is a friend and a lady).

Apparently, though, flailing wildly with his arms is the right thing to do as Genzo just heavily sighs and scratches his cheek. "I guess I'm going a bit overboard with my protectiveness. Just... make her happy."

"I – I don't know what you-!" But Genzo is already gone, submerged in the sea of other party guests's bodies. Luffy groans. He still has stuff to do before he can finally grab his raw ham melons. This conversation he's about to have better be over soon.

His boot-clad feet carry him to the room where Chabo lies in bed, catatonically staring at the ceiling and not at all inclined on participating in the party for Arlong and his crew's defeat.

"So, what's with you?" Luffy asks, grabbing a stool and sitting down on it right next to the boy.

"Why do you care? You won against Arlong. I didn't. Go out and be happy about it." Chabo answers monotonically.

"Didn't you want him gone, too? Why aren't you out there and happy about it?"

"Because I CAN'T!" the boy yells, shooting up from his lying position, "I CAN'T be happy about it! I crippled myself! I can't follow my dreams anymore. Yeah, nice knowing that at least Arlong's not gonna fucking chase and kill me or some shit like that... But I can't do what I always wanted to do now!"

Luffy flicks the boy's forehead. "Don't be stupid." he says.

"Wha-?! What the hell?!" Chabo rubs the place where the other's finger connected, "What would you know about living without an arm?"

The Marine captain points to his hat. "This hat" he tells the boy, "belonged to one of the most powerful pirates who travels the Grandline – Yonko Shanks. He gave it to me nine years ago and you know what else he gave up for me? His arm." The boy's eyes widen, gazing at the straw hat in awe. "Yeah, and Shanks only became Yonko after he saved me from a sea king and lost his arm. So, what's your problem? What even is your dream?"

"I want to become the best bounty hunter there is!" Chabo says, cheeks tinted pink.

Luffy laughs. "Shishishi! That's great! Now I have a future admiral and the future best bounty hunter on my head!"

"Huh?!"

"We'll have to fight someday, you know? I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy tells Chabo.

Chabo gapes at the elder. Then, determination clouds his face. The boy swears: "I'm gonna hunt and catch you when I'm strong enough, just wait!" which makes Luffy laugh even harder. Yes, indeed, the conversation was worth postponing getting the raw ham melons.

Unbeknownst to Luffy, a marine who'd been searching for a toilet halts in his steps when he hears the pirate's declaration. He gasps. This marine wants to be Pirate King?! He'll have to report possible mutiny to the headquarters! But... maybe... he looks at the happy people and the ongoing festivity, maybe not now.

...

On the next day, after a round of goodbyes and 'thank you's, the Marine Pirates once again find themselves on the deck of their beloved ship. Nami breathes in the fresh sea breeze and carefully touches the plastic wrap on her new tattoo.

It's a sunny day and seagulls fly above when they set sail.

Life is going well – Zoro's napping, leaning against the railing. Luffy's sitting with a broad grin on the figure head of their beautiful Going Merry. Usopp tinkers with a couple of small metal parts he's found somewhere stored in Arlong Park before they burnt it down (as a ceremony to put things to an end) and Sanji's cooking something delicious for lunch.

And Johnny and Yosaku...

Johnny and Yosaku...

Oh, fuck.

Zoro's eyes open and he frantically searches for a trace of those chuckleheads. They aren't here. "Eh, guys? Did someone remember to collect Johnny and Yosaku?"

"..."

"..."

"...shit." Nami curses. The Marine pirates, at this point, have been sailing for three hours.

Of course, they had to sail the whole goddamn way back to Conomi for the two bounty hunters. Turns out, Johnny and Yosaku had found their way to Nami's house... a day and a half later than when they'd been expected.

A/N: Mister "I upload huge ass chapters" isn't dead! Celebration!
What a struggle!

Well, I have a tumblr now. mindfogerased is its name!

As always, have fun, kids.