The weather was getting hotter, and the noonday sun spilled down over the earth in golden sheets.
Luffy pulled the long sword from Arlong's chest.
"Second one," he said casually.
He glanced at the fish-men still crouched on the ground, grieving.
Then he turned his head toward Nami in the distance and said,
"There are 138 fish-men total. Once I finish killing them, you'll officially be my navigator."
"…What?"
Nami and the others were still reeling from Luffy's overwhelming strength, unable to fully process his words.
Without repeating himself, Luffy vanished from his spot, reappearing next to a nearby fish-man. With one clean swipe to the throat, the fish-man dropped dead.
The system's familiar chime echoed in Luffy's mind.
He glanced at his experience bar, 2550/3000.
Another few kills and he'd level up again. Excitement bubbled in his chest.
Each fish-man gave him over 200 EXP. Killing them all would net him somewhere between 20,000 to 30,000 EXP.
He might even hit Level 20 soon.
With that thought in mind, Luffy kept going.
A punch, a slash, a stab,
Every strike claimed another life.
The Arlong Pirates were now leaderless.
Their captain was dead.
Kuroobi was a headless corpse.
Chew was beaten half to death.
Only Hachi the octopus fish-man remained, and even he lacked the strength to properly face Luffy.
But as the last remaining officer of the Arlong Pirates…
He had no choice but to step up.
Clang!
Just as Luffy was about to execute a fleeing fish-man, his sword was suddenly blocked.
Hachi, using his signature Six-Sword Style, deflected the attack.
"Oh? Trying to cut in line?" Luffy dropped his sword with a shrug and raised his fists. "Fine by me."
Terror flickered in Hachi's eyes as he nervously said, "I, I won't let you slaughter my comrades like this!"
"Then we'll see if you've earned the right to stop me."
Before the last syllable even left his mouth, Luffy vanished.
Hachi only saw a blur, and then felt a sharp pain in his leg.
Boom!
He dropped to his knees.
"Looks like you're not quite qualified," Luffy said coolly.
Before Hachi could react, Luffy had already closed the distance again, his fist raised high.
In that instant, Hachi knew what was coming. Tears welled in his eyes.
Staring at the approaching demon, Hachi was suddenly reminded of the slaver squads from his childhood.
Back then, he had been just as helpless, just as weak.
All he could do was cry.
Wait, how had he survived back then?
That's right!
It was big brother Arlong, he and the others had chased the slavers away.
Since then, Hachi had followed Arlong without question.
Big bro Arlong...
Luffy's fist came closer. Hachi saw his reflection in those eyes, pathetic and small, just like when he was a child.
But then, he noticed something.
What was that on his forehead?
No… not his forehead.
The sun.
The mark of the Sun Pirates.
Clang!
"Hm?" Luffy looked surprised as Hachi blocked the punch with his swords. "Didn't think you'd keep up."
With all his strength, Hachi shoved Luffy back.
Luffy flipped through the air and landed smoothly.
Hachi stood, six swords forming a defensive stance.
"You're not getting past me, unless you kill me!"
Luffy glanced at the fleeing fish-men. Time was running out.
"Fine. No more holding back."
He launched forward again.
Hachi swung his swords to meet Luffy's fists.
Though Luffy's fists looked soft and rubbery, each strike rang out, clang, clang, clang, as if they were made of steel.
He ignored the damage, tanking every slash with brute force.
Clang!
Finally, in a brief lapse in Hachi's stamina, Luffy struck.
A heavy punch knocked one of Hachi's swords flying.
Luffy followed up immediately, stomping hard on one of Hachi's arms.
"AAAHH!"
Hachi screamed but fought through the pain. With his five remaining hands, he attacked again.
But six arms were no match for Luffy before, let alone five.
Luffy broke another arm.
Crack!
Then a third.
Crack!
Then the fourth…
Sweat poured down Hachi's forehead. He gritted his teeth, enduring the agony.
Without a hint of hesitation, Luffy crushed the fifth arm.
"I respect you," Luffy said sincerely, "but I'm sorry."
In a flash, he dashed forward, too fast for Hachi to react.
With one final act of defiance, Hachi raised his last sword in front of his chest, smiling faintly.
"Thank you, big bro Arlong…"
Smash!
The blade snapped in two, clattering to the ground.
Luffy's arm had pierced deep into Hachi's chest, straight into his heart.
Splurt.
He withdrew his arm, blood gushing onto the deck.
Flicking the sticky blood off his hand, Luffy muttered,
"I really need to get myself a decent pair of gloves. This is getting messy."
He looked around.
Not a single fish-man still breathing.
"Great… now this is going to be annoying."
Luffy hadn't expected Hachi to put up such a fight. The other two hadn't even lasted a single blow.
He glanced at Nami and the others,
All of them were staring at him in stunned silence.
Feeling a bit awkward, Luffy scratched his head and offered a sheepish smile. Then he followed the fish-men's escape path on a run.
Nami looked at Arlong and Hachi's corpses, remembering their final moments.
After a moment's hesitation, she suddenly chased after Luffy.
"Nami?!"
"Nami, where are you going?"
Bell-mère and Nojiko followed close behind.
Genzo, too wounded to run, stayed behind to watch over the pile of corpses.
Luckily, some of the fish-men had stayed behind to check on Hachi. They hadn't gotten far.
Luffy took them all out, one by one.
By the time he reached the shore, he had killed another twenty or so fish-men.
Combined with Hachi's generous EXP bonus, Luffy hit Level 15.
As usual, he put his new attribute points into stamina.
At the shore, he saw that the remaining fish-men had already boarded the pirate ship and were preparing to sail away.
Now he really panicked.
He'd said no survivors, but a hundred fish-men were about to escape.
Without another word, he leapt aboard the ship and continued his slaughter.
Backed into a corner, the fish-men grabbed weapons and fought back.
They could've jumped into the sea to flee…
But they were brothers. None of them wanted to abandon the others.
Still, not one of them could survive more than three strikes from Luffy.
By the time Nami and the others arrived at the shore, the ship was already littered with bodies.
Nami, having never seen such a gruesome sight before, burst into tears.
She saw Luffy still killing and shouted through her sobs,
"That's enough!"
Luffy had already noticed her.
He thought she had come to see if he'd truly killed them all, so he hadn't stopped.
At her cry, his hand paused mid-twist, just before breaking another fish-man's neck. Slowly, he let go.
Everything went quiet.
Nami, tears streaming down her cheeks, said again,
"Stop killing. Please… it's enough. Please don't kill anyone else."
Luffy was silent for a moment. Then he spoke.
"Leave the ship. Swim away."
The fish-men froze, unsure if it was a trick.
"Do I have to say it again?" Luffy growled, eyes sharp.
That did it. In a blur of movement, the remaining fish-men jumped into the sea, desperate to escape.
Once they were gone, Luffy hopped off the ship and washed his hands thoroughly by the water's edge.
His clothes were still soaked in blood, but at least his hands and face were clean.
After cleaning up, Luffy jogged over to Nami.
"Sorry about that," he said with a sheepish grin. "I thought you hated them."
Despite the massacre, Luffy could still tuck away his bloodlust and flash that warm, sunny smile.
"I, it's fine…" Nami stammered.
She hadn't expected someone so fierce to not only listen to her… but apologize.
"What a shame," Luffy said with a mockingly sad face.
"Guess we won't be sailing together after all. Looks like our deal's off."
Of course, most of that sadness was just for show. A small part was genuine, he was only a few kills away from Level 17.
But hey, in his past life he'd dated a few girls.
He knew this push-and-pull routine always worked.
"A-ah… it's not your fault! I was the one who stopped you, so… so…"
Nami fidgeted, clutching the hem of her skirt.
"So that means you're coming with me, right?" Luffy asked hopefully, though his tone left no room for doubt.
"…Mm." Nami looked down, nodding, cheeks flushed.
Bell-mère and Nojiko said nothing, but from the looks on their faces, they knew,
Nami was truly leaving.
[Ding! Host has acquired a second crew member. Partner System unlocked. Please draw an exclusive item for your new partner.]
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 294+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 231
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 149
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 79
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 77
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 60