🏴☠️️Ch.40: Arlong's Assault From the Sea! Water Attacks Are Useless! The Siren Relies on Her Physical Strength!🏴☠️️
It's a stare down between myself and Luffy towards Arlong.
"'King of the Pirates'?" The sawshark Fishman scoffs. He picks up a chunk of rubble and starts tossing it in the air over and over. "Don't be foolish. A puny human like you couldn't possibly conquer the Grand Line." Arlong's gaze shifts towards me. "Oh, I get it now. You brought (First Name) into your silly crew for her expertise." He lets out a few chuckles. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did. With no doubt in my mind, she could sail those waters without a ship, blindfolded. Though, why she would choose to sail under a scrawny, little runt like you as a captain, I will never understand. You can't even crush a pillar with your jaws." He mocks.
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"He's right. There's no way a human could do something like that." Sanji agrees with Arlong's statement, albeit reluctantly. "If those jaws got a hold of you, they would do a lot more than just leave some bite marks."
He imagines Luffy getting a chunk taken out of his midsection. "He'll snap through your bones like a butcher."
And from what he's learned about (First Name) hybrid form, he knows that her scales can deflect bullets. Not so sure about how her scales would hold up against Arlong's jaw strength.
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Arlong continues chuckling.
"Yeah? So, what?" Luffy retorts. The rubber boy smashes what's left of a stone pillar, breaking it with his sheer strength. Not bad for a human. "Quit your bragging! You're not that awesome!"
Luffy's comment wipes the smirk off Arlong's face and brings a wide one to my own. Leave it to Luffy to know how to bring someone from off their high horse.
"Besides, smashing stones with your teeth isn't that smart."
"Way to go! You're the best, Big Bro! Tell him like it is!" Yosaku shouts.
"Yeah! What idiot bites a rock anyway?!" Johnny screams in agreement.
I chuckle at the fact that Arlong is being made a fool of.
"Fools . . .that's not the point! Every member of the human race is ignorant and weak!" Veins start popping up around the fishman's neck and face. He points at my rubber captain. "What good are you if you can't even pull yourself out of the water?!" He lunges at us, more so towards Luffy, with jaws wide open, ready to take a bite out of his opponents.
But Luffy and I manage to dodge, and, oddly, the rubber boy takes up arms with two cutlasses abandoned on the ground.
"As a matter of fact, I'm worthless without my friends to help me out. Heck! I probably wouldn't be standing here right now, if it weren't for (First Name)!"
Arlong starts to back away at the sight of an armed Luffy.
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"Huh? No way! Luffy's a swordsman?!"
💥Not even in the slightest.💥 Trigger deadpans to Sanji question.
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Luffy keeps swinging both swords wildly, without any rhyme or reason to his technique.
As a swordswoman, it was almost painful to look at.
Arlong notices the lack of technique as well. "What is this a joke? Whatever it is, it isn't swordplay. You're just flailing about like a child playing pirates." The sawshark Fishman uses his sharp nose to break one of Luffy cutlasses. "I hope you realize this isn't a game." He growls.
Luffy grips his other cutlass with both hands and swings it with all his might at Arlong's head. The Fishman catches the blade end in his teeth, causing the blade's end to go flying while he bites down and crushes the remainder of the sword still in his jaws.
"That's enough!" Arlong snarls. "Now, die!"
"Shut your face!" Luffy spins around and strikes Arlong on the side of his face. The sheer force from Luffy's punch was enough to shatter Arlong's teeth.
"WHAT?! HE JUST SHATTERED ARLONG'S TEETH!" The villagers exclaim.
But as a marine biologist I knew sharks. And while the damage my captain did was incredible for a human, even by one with Devil Fruit powers standards, it wasn't going to mean squat.
Arlong clutches at his mouth, not a single tooth remains intact.
"You're right! I don't have a clue how to use a sword, you bastard!" Luffy yells to his fallen opponent. "I'm a terrible sailor. I definitely can't cook. I'm no expert on sea life, or weapons. And I can't even lie! AND WITHOUT MY FRIENDS TO HELP ME, I WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD A LONG TIME AGO!!"
Arlong chuckles behind the hand he's holding over his mouth. "So, you fully admit how pathetic you are. You may be a fool, but you certainly are honest. How must your crew feel tolerating this idiocy day in and day out? I bet they're sick of it."
"He may be an idiot sometimes, Arlong, but at least he's an idiot with morals." I step in.
"Still it makes me wonder, why they'd try so desperately to save their half-wit leader. Someone like you doesn't deserve a ship or a crew. Least of all a woman like (First Name). What good is a rubber-brained captain to her or them? What can you possibly do?" Arlong asks as he gets to his feet, rubbing his aching jaw.
"I can kick your ass!" Luffy retorts, causing Nami to laugh at Luffy's comeback.
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"Well get to it, numbskull." Sanji huffs. "And you better not let anything happen to (First Name)-koi!"
"If he dies, I'm gonna kill him." Zoro groans.
"Kinda contradicting yourself there, aren't ya?" Ghin grunts out.
"Shut up."
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"I've got your backs, Luffy! (First Name)!" Usopp shouts.
"Kick his sorry fish ass!" Hikari cheers.
Soon enough the whole mob of villagers, along with Johnny and Yosaku, shout out encouragements.
"Cheer all you want, but it won't change a thing." Arlong's destroyed teeth fall out. And in only a few seconds a new set grows in and takes their place.
"He's got new teeth!"
"He's a sawshark Fishman. When sharks teeth break or fall out, they've got a new set right behind the front ready to take its place." I explain.
"A sea life expert, indeed. The little lady's correct. New teeth will grow one after the other. And with each set, they become stronger." Arlong removes his new teeth. "Endlessly." Another set immediately grows in. He then pulls out that set. "As many as it takes."
Luffy is in awe at the sight, but it was nothing I hadn't seen a million times during my countless underwater explorations. And it's far more impressive when a shark does it naturally, not to show off, like how Arlong is doing.
"This is but one of the many gifts we Fishmen possess."
"That's so cool!" Luffy exclaims, only to be met with my fist to the back of his head. "OW!"
"Ce n'est pas le moment d'être impressionné, Luffy! [1]"
"Huh?" Luffy tilts his head confusedly.
"Sorry. I said, 'This is no time to be impressed'."
Arlong ignores our little squabble. "If you haven't yet realized that Fishmen are superior, you will very soon." He now wields his two sets of teeth in his hands as weapons. "Tooth Attack!"
Arlong manipulates the teeth to bite down on Luffy, and just when he's got Luffy cornered, I leap in and block the jaws with my forearms crossed in front of my face protectively. My icy gaze meets Arlong, and I can clearly see him flinch at my visible (Eye Color) ocean blue-rimmed eye glaring at him. "Is that the best you've got Arlong?" I mock. "I've got bite scars from a bull shark that had more bite force than this." I rear back one arm and strike the fishman in the gut.
"Like I said before, Arlong . . ." I put my hands on my hips. "You don't know everything about me."
"Wah!" I hear Luffy shriek.
"Luffy? What is it?" I ask quickly, and he responds by pointing at my arms.
I look down to see Arlong's teeth stuck in my scaly forearms. "AAAAHH!! EW! This is so gross, even by my standards!" I scream as I pry off the sets of jaws, blood seeping from the gashes left behind.
Luffy on the other hand seems to have one of his rare "lightbulb moment". "Hey, now that's an interesting idea."
All are shocked at the thought of Luffy have an idea, even me.
"Care to let me in on your little plan, Luffy?"
The rubber boy doesn't answer, as he jumps in to strike Arlong just as he was getting his bearings. His punch knocking out, yet another, set of teeth.
"Alright!" Luffy cheers for some reason.
"You . . .You fool. There's no point in crushing my teeth." Arlong growls, wiping his mouth of blood drawn from Luffy's last punch before another set of new teeth grow back. "You really don't get it!"
"Luffy! That's completely unsanitary!" I exclaim, seeing Luffy.
"So, wat? Now I ave ark teth." He replies pointing to the shark jaws now in his mouth, opening and closing his mouth experimentally in a biting motion.
Hey, when I said Luffy could have ideas, I didn't say they were all good ones. I facepalm at how ridiculous my captain looks.
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"Really . . .What were they expecting? It's Luffy." Zoro groans.
"Bright, our captain is not." Ghin inputs.
"You got that right." Sanji agrees.
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"How long do you intend to keep fooling around?" Arlong charges, with two new sets of teeth in hand ready to tear into Luffy. The sawshark Fishman manages to clip Luffy's side causing the rubber boy to roll around in pain.
"Luffy, be serious about this!" I haul him away from Arlong with my seaweed whip.
"Well, t's ot ike 'm aving fun!" Luffy retorts.
"Tooth Attack!"
Luffy and I dodge Arlong teeth once more, avoiding being crushed, like the concrete where we once stood.
The both of us just kept on dodging Arlong's jaws, but Arlong manages to knock me away and go in for Luffy.
Luffy quickly reacts by holding up a large chunk of concrete between him and Arlong's teeth. The rubble didn't hold up to Arlong's jaw strength, and the teeth bite right through it and connect with Luffy's midsection.
"Luffy!" I cry out.
But Luffy returns the fishman's attack in full by biting down harshly on his shoulder with his own shark teeth he took earlier.
Arlong throws off the rubber boy, but not without getting Luffy's pair of shark jaws stuck in his shoulder. Luffy on the other hand manages to crawl away from the fishman with a pair of shark jaws embedded in his side.
"Gotcha! Now we're even. And now we're even!" Luffy retorts with a smirk.
"So, you used my teeth." Arlong rips out the jaws clamped to his shoulder. "But your puny jaws aren't strong enough. Now, listen. Sharp as my teeth are, they're only useful when they come with powerful jaws like mine. Then, they're deadly!" The sawshark fishman lunges at Luffy, jaws wide open and manages to latch onto Luffy's arm he used to block.
For a moment, we all thought Luffy was going to get his entire arm ripped off. But Luffy used Arlong's up and personal attack to his advantage by using his own strength to slam Arlong into the ground. The rubber boy then succumbs to exhaustion and collapses on his back.
"Luffy!" I run to his side and unclasp the pair of jaws still stuck in his side as gently as I could. "Baka [2]." I mutter softly. "Nani o kangaete ita nodesu ka? [3] Wait, what am I saying? You hardly ever think things through. But one wrong move and you could have lost your arm, you rubber dolt."
Arlong got to his feet first, rubbing the back of his head before jumping into the causeway.
'Crap!'
"Hey. Where'd Arlong go?" Luffy asks.
"He's in the water." I growl softly, not taking my gaze away from Arlong's dorsal fin that breached the surface of the water.
Luffy looks over my shoulder. "Hey, a shark!"
"That's Arlong, stupido![4] Non hai appena sentito cosa ho detto?! [5]" I exclaim in some of my many mother languages.
The fishman dives further underwater till he could no longer be seen.
"So, wait . . .He went under?" Luffy questions. Luffy leans in close to the water, searching for his opponent. "Did he run away?"
"He's even stronger when in water. Be ready for whatever comes next, Luffy." I advise.
Not a minute after my warning, Arlong burst from the sea like a torpedo. His sharp nose ready to skewer the first thing it touched. "SHARK DART!!"
I quickly pulled Luffy out of the way from Arlong's trajectory, but not without getting a deep, but non-fatal cut going from my right hip to at an upward angle just below my bust. The force of Arlong's attack sends me flying into a pile of rubble. I swear I blacked out for a few seconds there.
"(FIRST NAME)!!" I hear my friends cry out for me.
The rubble obscuring my vision is then lifted and I look up to see my rubber captain with a worried look on his face that really doesn't suit him. "(First Name)! Are you okay?!"
"I'd be lying if I said I was, but I've been in tougher spots with worse wounds." I answer. I nearly lose my balance coming out from the rubble if Luffy wasn't there to catch me.
"Wow. I'm impressed you can still stand after that, Little Guppy." Arlong smirks.
Luffy looks over his shoulder and growls at Arlong.
"Good job. But the longer you and your captain evade your death, the more painful it will be." Luffy can see that Arlong is rearing up for another attack. "SHARK . . .DART!"
Luffy lifts me up bridal style, moving us out of the way of the fishman's sharp nose. Arlong instead pierces the stone ground, shattering it.
Again and again, Arlong comes at us with the same attack, and while we both are able to dodge and avoid any serious injuries, the sawshark fishman still tosses us about for a while before retreating back into the water for a more powerful attack.
"Hey, Luffy, (First Name), hide! Arlong went into the sea again!" Usopp exclaims.
Everyone begins shouting for us to take cover.
Luffy and I are quick to shake off our weariness, but we don't run or hide.
"We won't hide . . ." Luffy starts.
"We won't run . . ." I continue.
"Don't be foolish, you two! Get for cover before he runs right through you!" Sanji shouts.
"No way! I'm not running anywhere. I'm gonna catch him and break his nose." Luffy proclaims. "Come on, you shark!"
Everyone's warning falls on deaf ears, as we remain glued to our spots awaiting the fishman to burst from the waters.
I give Luffy a look. "I'll back you up. I don't think I can do much to stop him with just this." I hold up my seaweed whip. "And going in the water with my wounds would just speed up my already bleeding out. So . . .you go high?"
"Sounds good. Now Gum-Gum . . ." Luffy stretches his fingers across his body horizontally. " . . .SHIELD!!"
No sooner does Arlong shoot from the sea even faster than the first time. From on the ground, it looked as if Luffy was pierced by Arlong's nose. But because his of fingers stretched out in front of him, Luffy caught Arlong just inches before the fishman's nose could meet his stomach. With the fishman now in his clutches, Luffy throws him into the second level of the Arlong Park main building.
At the same time, I'm one level higher than where Arlong was thrown. Luffy shortly joins my side, clutching to the wall, chuckling.
"It's over." He smirks. "That attack won't work now."
"SHARK DART!"
Arlong bursts from the floor below leaving the both of us with no choice but to jump from the third level.
"You bastard! That was just pure luck!" Luffy shouts.
Arlong charges from above, thinking he's got Luffy cornered between him and the sea below.
"Fat chance!" Luffy weaves his fingers together. "GUM-GUM FINGER NET!"
Luffy entraps the sawshark fishman, slowing down his momentum and bringing him in close enough to get a decent attack in. "GUM-GUM SPEAR!" With both his feet pressed together, Luffy plows Arlong into the concrete.
Cheers from the villagers could be heard, as Arlong was struck down. But I have a sinking feeling in my gut that things are about to get much more complicated. And my gut hasn't let me down just yet.
As Luffy falls back to earth, Arlong's eyes shoot open revealing a look of spine-tingling intensity. A perfect way to compare Arlong's sharp gaze is to that of a sea king who's snapped and is out for blood.
Before you know it, Arlong's back on his feet and has Luffy by the hair, swinging him around overhead and throwing him into the first floor of the Arlong Park base. "You wretched human! What have you done to me, a mighty fishman?!"
I wasn't worried too much, because of Luffy's Devil Fruit power, physical means of injury don't have an effect on him. I drop down to where he is thrown with my seaweed whip. "You okay, Luffy?"
"Yeah . . ." He pops out from beneath the rubble pile. "Wow. That was crazy. It didn't actually hurt, but I can tell he's really like . . .madder."
Arlong doen't allow us even a second to recover, as he charges at us. But once again, we are able to dodge, by leaping onto the second level balcony. But Arlong's hand, which went through the wall to the Arlong Park base, pulls something out from within. That 'something' was gigantic sword with six black saw-toothed blades resembling shark teeth, with the handle being like that of a katana, but with no guard.
"Oh, man. What is that?" Luffy wonders.
"Kiribachi." I name. "Arlong's signature weapon. He's had for as long as I can remember."
Arlong leaps up to the second floor where we stand and brings down the enormous blade. But we keep dodging, jumping another floor up when Arlong is about to slice us. But we couldn't keep up the defensive for long, as we ran out of floors to jump to. Now up against the wall of the fourth and final floor, we had nowhere left to go.
Arlong raises his large blade once more and swings it to cut us through the middle. But in the split second before the blade could meet our bodies, I nab Luffy by his collar and break through one of the base's windows and into what looks to be a map drawing room.
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Nami eyes the room (First Name) and Luffy leaped into to avoid Arlong's attack. 'The left window, on the top floor.'
"That's the room that . . ."
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Using what little time the both of have before Arlong follows us in, Luffy and I catch our breath, while I still continue to bleed out. My vision is starting to become blurry. I'm lucky I'm still able to stand. Quickly shaking off my fatigue, I haul myself upright.
"There's nowhere else to run." Arlong growls. "The both of you and me. Here. At the highest level of Arlong Park." His eyes still with that fierce, feral look. "At last, the time of your deaths have come."
Luffy, on the other hand, is too busy looking around the room. "What is this room? Lot of paper."
"This isn't just any room." Arlong explains, surprisingly calmly. "This is the room where I made Nami draw all of her sea charts for me."
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'The map room!' Nami realizes in her head.
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"Nami's room?" I breathe out, looking about the numerous upon numerous maps stacked as high as the room's ceiling. Some of the incredibly drawn maps strewn about on the floor, many rolled up and put in boxes, others hung up to dry on a line. A lone map at my feet draws my attention far more than the imposing sawshark Fishman before me and my captain. More specifically, my gaze is drawn to the many blood and tear stains that litter the paper.
"These sea charts are what she's worked on all these years. Just look around you. These maps are more valuable than any amount of treasure. You see, to us Fishmen, collecting data about the ocean is a simple affair. But assembling that raw information into a useful chart is a difficult task. That's why we needed a surveyor. In fact, that is the sole reason I'm keen on keeping that woman in my possession. She's absolutely brilliant. The accuracy of her charts is beyond comparison. She's too good for human trash like you." He says, more so aimed at Luffy than myself, but even though my hearing was focused on Arlong's voice, my mind and gaze are solely locked on the map still in my hand. "Her talents should be used solely to build up the mighty Arlong Empire!"
I tremble with building up anger, like a kettle ready to blow it's top from being on the fire too long. Looking at the map reminded me of the first time I saw Nami's passion for navigating back when we first met eight years ago.
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"This is amazing work, Little Orange!" My ten-year-old self exclaimed, looking over a sea chart Nami had forgotten she kept in her dress pocket with her before her fight with Bellemere.
"You really think so?" The little girl asked.
"Think so? I know so. You've got an incredible talent for one so young." I ruffled her hair like an older sister would (despite us being the same age), causing her to burst into giggles. "You'd make a heck of a navigator, that's for sure."
"Well, that's what I want to be when I grow up. I want to draw a map of the world!"
"A map of the world, huh? I look forward to seeing it."I looked down at the chart once more. 'Nami.' I say seriously, though with a smile.
She looked up at me from her spot in my lap. "Mmhm?"
"Don't ever lose your passion for what you love, no matter how crazy or unattainable it might be, or what people might say about it. As long as you think it can be done, then nothing else should matter. Understand?"
She held out her pinky. "I promise."
We linked our pinkies together before giggling.
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I tear my gaze away from the map to see Arlong holding his blade in front of Luffy's face, the predatory look in his eyes back.
"Now, listen. Nami belongs to me." Arlong affirms.
"Is that so?" Luffy queries.
"And the both of you are interfering in our business, you human scum. And while I like you, (First Name), as long as you continue to side with him, you're in my way too. She's not your friend."
"You think we care?" I speak up, as I lower my hand with the chart still in its grip. "It doesn't matter what you say, Arlong!" The fishman flinches at my fierce gaze when it meets his own, despite my hair covering nearly half my fast all of the time.
"Because Nami is first and foremost our friend and the navigator to the Straw Hat Pirates!!"
☠TO BE CONTINUED . . . ☠
On the next One Piece . . .
"Amazing! It's such a fierce battle!"
"Man, (First Name)'s really pissed of this time, huh Carmela?"
"When it comes to those she cares about being in danger or hurt, is there any other way she should be, Ahio?"
"I finally figured out how to save her."
"Hurry up and get to it you damn, rubber man. And make sure (First Name) doesn't get hurt anymore than she already is!"
"For her to finally be free, we need to destroy this 'prison' that Arlong kept her locked in for all these years, Luffy."
"GO! GET ARLONG!"
"Luffy. (First Name). Thank you."
🏴☠️️Ch.41: Fall of the Fishman Empire! Nami Is Our Friend!!🏴☠️️
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☠Current Crew: Luffy | (First Name) | Zoro | Nami | Usopp | Ghin | Sanji☠
🐾The Pack: Carmela | Ahio | Tito | Umi | Trigger | Calder | Richie | ChouChou🐾
💎Gems: Jimanekia the Yellow Pearl💎
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Translation(s):
[1] This is not the time to be impressed, Luffy! (French)
[2] Idiot. (Japanese)
[3] What were you thinking? (Japanese)
[4] Stupid. (Italian)
[5] Didn't you hear a word I just said?! (Italian)