As Carina and Moodie handled the ropes to lower their lifeboat into the ocean, Luffy kept a firm eye on the Conomi Islands ahead. He was with the last group to depart, paddling their little dinghy to what used to Gosa Village. Reiju and Makino had left first, followed by Kaya, Kuina and Sally as a trio. The Going Merry itself was being steered towards Arlong Park, Nami at the helm to play the part of a loyal Arlong Pirate who just robbed a crew of their entire haul.
All of the girls had the same goal once they reached land: follow the route on their maps provided by Nami and beat the stuffing out of every fishman in sight. Now, they could launch a direct assault on the park itself but the redhead had forwarded this plan for two reasons. One, it just so happened to be collection day. Arlong will have squads of his crew-fishmen dispersed around the island to collect tons of beris from every village, meaning they can whittle down his forces little by little. And the other?
"If Arlong has one redeeming quality, it's that he genuinely cares for his crew. So, I want to see how he likes it. I want him to watch his friends get beaten, stolen from, and made to feel weak and afraid. Don't kill them, though, even though they've murdered plenty of people. I want them all to crawl back to Arlong Park terrified. Then, just for once, Arlong will know exactly how he's made all of us feel."
Again, Nami's voice sounded so angry and bitter. All of this pain she had to keep bottled up inside her for the sake of saving her home. Luffy's hands curled into fists, swearing that he would punch that shark's teeth out.
But unlike the others, Luffy was walking alone through Cocoyashi Village. It was a small, quaint place full of one-story houses, a few market stalls set up along a flat dirt road and a palpable tension in the air. A few people spied on him through blinded windows, but nobody tried to actually approach him. According to Nami, this place used to be such a vibrant little town where everyone knew each other and acted like a community. Now they lived in constant fear for their lives.
As much as he wanted to help them now, Luffy had a plan to stick to. He walked down a small side path leading off from the end of the village until he came across a simple house painted pastel blue with dozens of tangerine trees. He had officially arrived at Nami's house.
"Hello?" he called, letting himself inside and being met with a shriek. A young woman with blue hair, a swirling dark blue tattoo on left arm and shoulder, and a simple getup of a beige tank top and worn blue jeans. She quickly stood up from the small dining room table and pointed at him.
"Who the hell are you?! Get out of my house!"
Luffy just smiled. "You must be Nojiko, right?"
"The hell does that matter?! I said get out!"
He pointedly ignored Nojiko, fully inviting himself inside and plopping down at the seat opposite from where she was. The bluenette just gawked at his brazen behavior before scowling at him. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Waiting for Nami to show up. I thought you were her big sister."
That made her flinch in surprise. "You… know Nami?"
"Yep! She's my friend!"
Nojiko crossed her arms over her chest. "I call bull. Nami doesn't have friends. She's a thief, and a traitor. Now get out before I force you out."
Luffy just frowned. "That's no way to talk about your only family."
"Listen to me, buster, I don't know who you think you are but you need to get out of here! It's not safe on this island!"
"Nope, sorry, not leaving until Nami gets here." He then plopped both his feet up on the table, making Nojiko growl but eventually throw her hands up. If this guy wanted to throw his life away so badly, who was she to stop him? Besides, if Nami did catch this guy here, she'd probably smack him with her bo staff into next week.
The people of Fayil Village were all lined up, sacks of beris ready to present to the two fishmen waiting at the end of the street. Nobody so much as blinked as they handed over the money they spent all month slaving away to earn over to the two cronies of Arlong the Saw.
"NEXT!" the albacore tuna-man shouted, the old lady in front of him shuffling away. Standing close to seven feet tall and covered in mottled gray scales, he made sure to bare his teeth as the next person approached. A woman in her early thirties, brown hair tied back with a young girl holding her left hand and a toddler clinging to her left leg.
"H-H-Here you are, s-sir…" She handed over a sack with two hundred thousand beris. A quick bit of counting later, however, and he frowned.
"You trying to pull something on us?"
"Huh?! What do you mean?"
"We've been keeping tabs here. Didn't you just have a baby two months ago?"
"N-No sir! I-I don't recall that at all!"
The tuna-man turned to his friend, a heavyset pufferfish-man, and pointed to one of the houses. "Go search her house. If you see a brat in there, break its neck."
Several of the townspeople grimaced, but everybody kept their heads down. There was no sense in getting themselves killed just because one lady broke the rules…
The rotund fishman was about to open the door when he noticed two figures walking up. Two women, one with dark green hair in a long plaid dress and another who was practically pink from head to toe.
"Hey! Who the hell are you?!"
"Oh, we're just visiting!" the green one said with a chipper smile, "Pardon me, but do you know Arlong?"
The villagers all paled. They wanted to scream and ward them off but the tuna-man beat them to it. "This is official business! Scram!"
"Pft, somebody needs to teach you some manners…" the pink one scoffed, now the entire village was holding its breath.
"The fuck did you just say?!" the pufferfish barked, marching over and grabbing Reiju by the shoulder, "You puny humans ought to stay out of our way before you-!"
His words died when the woman in front of him shifted and grew into a humanoid lioness, growling at him in anger. "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Mmm, I was craving fish…" she grinned before sinking her claws into his shoulder, heedless of the poisonous spikes that covered his beige skin.
"FUGO, NO!" The other fishman ran up to help his friend only for the green one to run up to him.
"You better get out of my way! I may not be Kuroobi, but I still know Fishman Karate! I'll break you in half!"
The woman just leapt into the air, a good fifteen feet much to the amazement of the villagers. But the fishman just jumped after her, readying a watery fist that was sure to break her ribs.
"Moonwalk!" The woman somehow jumped again, off of the air, making him blanche.
"HUUUUH?! That's impossible!"
"You're gonna pay for all these people you've hurt!" The pleasant demeanor from before was gone. Now she had a furious glare as she fell towards him, her feet outstretched as if she planned to stomp on him. He just grinned. She was about to get a taste of what superior fishman fighting techniques were like.
"HK Heels!"
Her double kick met his fist, only for an earth-shaking blast of force to send him skidding back down the ground.
"C-Corey!" Fugo shouted in dismay, only for the lion-woman to wrap her tail around his throat. As his friend slowly got up, he noticed his elbow was sticking out from the rest of his arm… And several fingers were missing from his bloody, mangled heap of a right hand. Corey screamed in agony and terror, especially as the green-haired witch slowly got up from the ground.
"S-Stop, please! We-We'll give you all the money we have!"
"It's not your money, it belongs to the people of these islands!" she shouted, "You've been taking advantage of these people for far too long!"
Fugo was then thrown aside like garbage, gashes bleeding across his body and one eye swollen shut. The lion-woman transformed back into a normal person but Corey could now see the gleam of a predator in her eyes.
"This is your only warning. Go to Arlong Park and tell your boss he's not welcome here anymore."
The two fishmen, terrified and beaten worse than they've ever been in their lives, ran helter-skelter back to their headquarters while the people of Fayil Village stared in complete awe. The mother from before, a little boy and a tween girl at her side, were the first to speak.
"T-Thank you… Those monsters were about to go after my baby…"
"That was amazing!" the little girl jumped up, her smile lighting up the whole village, "Are you with the Marines?!"
"Hehe, no. We just happened to be wandering through and decided to help…"
Makino and Reiju then walked right past the astonished crowd, heading off to the next village. Though the kids waved them goodbye, the adults all felt the first real twinge of hope in years. They all then happily took their money back inside, wondering if they might finally be able to spend it on themselves and each other for a change.
Carina and Moodie both felt sick to their stomachs as they walked through what used to be a village. To think Arlong was so paranoid and petty that he would flip every single house upside down because one person happened to possess a weapon.
"I actually ran into a few places like this," Moodie mentioned, "Pirates storm in, start laying down the law, and anyone who doesn't want to live that way either has to escape or beg for help from the Navy."
"Assuming they aren't tapping snails," Carina added, "And yeah, you should ask Nami some of the things we went through. You would not believe the number of places you can hide a gun…"
As the two ladies walked, they spotted something darting back in between two wrecked buildings with a yelp. They naturally went to investigate and spotted a young boy, no older than ten, holding a knife.
"Huh? You two aren't fishmen…" he muttered.
"Well, we sure hope we don't look like them!" Carina kidded, "What's a little kid like you doing around here?"
"I was looking for anything we could use… This used to be my village…"
"Oh, that's horrible," Moodie sighed, "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Huh?! No, you two need to get out of here! Before one of them sees you!"
"Hey, what's going on over there?!"
The boy paled as a particularly big-boned fishman walk over, dressed in a loud tropical shirt and several jagged teeth sticking out over his lower lip. "I haven't seen you two ladies around here. State your business."
"Oh, we're just wanderers," Carina lied effortlessly, "Our boat was just brought here by the tides."
"Oh, is that so? Well then, you ought to know that you're on the Arlong Pirates' territory. That'll be 10,000 beris from each of you."
Moodie raised an eyebrow. She glanced back at the young boy, shivering in terror just being around one of these creeps. Then she turned her glance up at the fishman, his hand held out expecting cash.
"Well, sir, I'm quite sorry to say that we don't have any money on us."
"Then I suggest you leave before I make you leave."
"Now, now, is there any need for that? Why don't you just relax?" A chilly blue air filled the air. The little boy started shivering, while the fishman just slumped. His posture grew lazier, his eyes glassy. What was he even doing here again?
"There, isn't that better?" she chuckled, "Now, I want to ask you a few things. You're with Arlong the Saw, right?"
"Yeeeeeah…" he sighed, sounding utterly bored.
"Do you really hate the people of this island so much?"
"Arlong and his main cronies do. I'm just doing my job…"
"Oh? Wasn't Arlong a member of a Warlord's crew?"
"Yeah, he was. Jinbei, the Son of the Sea. I miss him, he was way nicer. And WAAAY stronger too."
The little boy chuckled at hearing one of Arlong's own fishmen diss him, but this guy didn't even seem to hear him. He stared in awe before noticing the blue-haired girl was going from house to house, crawling in through broken windows. Even as she broke glass and dragged a burlap sack that was steadily getting bigger behind her, this guy was totally oblivious.
The waves of cold coming from Moodie made him shiver and made his teeth clatter but again the fishman didn't even see him. The blonde just kept asking him questions, and he kept giving blasé answers like he wondered what he was even doing here.
Only when Carina had thoroughly gone through the entire place did Moodie cut off her power, but the fishman was still dazed and uninterested in anything going on. Carina then waltzed up to the side of the baffled pirate.
"Okay, we're done here," she snarked, her voice still quiet, "Volume Change: Forte!"
"Forte Fist!" Her voice suddenly boomed. When her knuckles met his gut, the fishman was blasted backwards like a cannonball, the ground cracking from the sheer loudness. He crashed through one of the upturned houses before shakily standing up on the other side. Though he walked with a limp, he franticly moved back towards Arlong Park as fast as possible.
"You okay?" Carina asked the little boy, her voice back to normal.
"Y-Yeah. Who are you two?"
"We're just passing through. Now, what were you planning to do with that knife?"
He flinched, dropping the little pocketknife clutched in one of his hands. "I… I was going to…"
"Use that on Arlong?"
"Yeah… This place was my home before…"
"I see. Well, don't worry anymore, kid. We know somebody super strong who'll take care of Arlong for you…" Carina even reached into her pocket, handing him a thousand-beri bill and telling him that that was his money and no one else's.
Kuina had to admit, she was impressed. She had been training herself to the bone for over a decade. She had been sailing around by herself, collecting heads to support herself. She figured that the shipping company heiress and the literal queen would have balked or cried or fallen apart when they walked through the Arlong Pirates' territory.
The bluenette then kicked herself for doubting her crewmates. Kaya and Sally were as calm as they could be as they walked ahead. The queen held out her hand as a little honeybee floated down onto her outstretched finger.
"Mmmhmm…" The other two just glanced at each other, confused. All they heard was a high-pitched buzzing. The little insect phased back into her hand and Sally turned to tell them, "We've got a serious problem up ahead. The fishmen spotted someone with guns in his house."
All three broke into a run. They ran up to the entrance of the little hamlet just as four fishman started dragging people out of their houses, yelling to be quiet unless they want jaws or limbs broken. Kuina pointed to the lines of houses on either side of the only street. Kaya jumped up onto the left and Sally onto the right, leaving the swordswoman seemingly alone as she took a deep breath and shouted "HEY, ASSHOLES! OVER HERE!"
The commotion stopped as the fishman spotted her, instantly recognizing her as the Pirate Huntress.
"So, you wanna collect Arlong's bounty, huh?" one of them scoffed, "Then you're going to have to go through us!"
Kuina smirked as she drew the Wado Ichimonji, only moving her feet until…
"Shave!"
"What the?! She disappeared?!" The villagers exclaimed, wondering who this madwoman was. The fishman split up to find her only to catch something glinting from the rooftops.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
Kaya stared down as she summoned more and more gem flechettes, dozens of them floating around her head and hands until she thrust her arms forwards. "Thirty-Carat Rain!"
The others all watched as over a dozen of the sparkling shots found their mark, burying themselves in the fishman and leaving him yowling in pain. "You're gonna pay for that, you little-!"
"Oi, behind you!"
He heard his friend too late, Kuina landing an overhead slash to his back. The first fishman was now out cold on the ground, the bluenette smirking at the others. "One down, three to go."
"You think this is some kind of game?!"
"I'd actually say so, yes."
The other three gasped at Sally standing just above them. One of the Arlong Pirates was about to leap up and attack her only to spot hundreds of yellowjackets buzzing behind her.
"Vermillion I: Pincer!"
Two of the fishmen panicked as they were bombarded, the vicious insects buzzing around and stinging them without remorse. Every barb that landed in them soon resulted in a giant red welt that made even the hardened fighters yelp in pain, especially when they went for the face, hand or foot.
They were so distracted by the barrage that they didn't notice Kuina charging in, unsheathing her sword and slicing them both down. That left only one thoroughly terrified fishman, this one looking like a cross between a flounder and a blonde-haired surfer dude, gawping at his fallen comrades.
"H-How?! No one in the East Blue has Devil Fruits! Who are you?!"
"Trust me, this is nothing. Now either get out of here or you're next!" Kuina shouted. And she had to give credit to his bravery, charging ahead with a yell. A shame that he didn't see the swordsman's smirk as she rushed ahead, covering her blade with Armament Haki along the way. The flounder-man went for a kick and soon fell to the ground missing a foot.
The townspeople couldn't believe it. They had seen these monsters shrug off gunfire and casually sink ships! How could one random woman with a sword topple this one in a single attack?!
And just as quickly as these three rescued them, they walked down the road while the fishman had to limp back towards Arlong Park a total wreck. Only when both parties were out of sight did the people break out into cheers. Not only was the town still standing, but someone finally put these bastards in their place! How could things get any better?!
Little did they know that by the end of the day, the Straw Hat Pirates had already saved over a dozen villages that day.
"Wow, these trees are all really nice!" Luffy admired, plucking a ripe tangerine off a low-hanging branch.
"Yes, they are. You wanna know how I know that? Because this is my orchard, I grow them all! Now get out!" Nojiko shouted right in front of him but he just casually hopped over her. The bluenette was at her wit's end. After trespassing in her house, he just wandered into the grove. And since she wouldn't let anyone touch her mother's trees, she had been following this oaf around trying to make him get the hint already.
Luffy, as usual, didn't care as he bit into the perfect little fruit and gushed at the juices flowing down his throat. It wasn't meat, of course, but he was really impressed. Maybe he could convince Nami to plant some of these on the garden on the Merry's aft deck!
"Yoo-hoo! Big sis, I'm hooooome!"
Nojiko turned and sighed in relief. "About time you got here! Could you please tell this meathead to leave?! He's been bugging me for almost half an hour!"
Nami walked up to Luffy as he was finishing the last of the tangerine, happily jumping in his arms and planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Aw, was my sister all mean to you?"
"Heh, nah, she's cool! And her tangerines are super yummy!"
"WHAT THE?!"
Nami had to stifle a laugh at the sheer shock on the farmer's face, her pale skin almost the same color as her hair. "Nojiko, meet Monkey D. Luffy, my captain and boyfriend!"
"B-B-B-B-BOYFRIEND?!"
"Wow, she's almost as loud as you…" Luffy awed.
"You're lucky I like you, so I'll take that as a compliment…" Nami said with a jab at his abs before turning to explain things to her sister before she passed out. A few minutes later and Nojiko was sitting back in her house, a cup of tea in hand and trying to desperately wrap her head around all this.
"So, let me get this straight… This guy is a pirate?"
"Yep!" Luffy smiled, "And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
"Uh-huh, sure, bud. And he… Managed to get you… To join his crew?"
"Yes, I know, it sounds insane but he's actually one of the nice, not-asshole pirate crews The, uh, what were they called again?"
"Peace-Main Pirates, that's us!"
"Yeah, right. And now this guy… Is going to beat up Arlong… Why exactly?"
"Because he's a total jerk! And nobody hurts one of my friends!"
Nojiko then took a long swig of her tea, draining the cup, before looking at them both. "Well, thank you very much for entertaining me today but I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."
Luffy just tilted his head. "Huh? Why not?"
"Because that's a nice little fantasy you have there, but there's no way this random guy you found can beat someone like Arlong!"
Nami just frowned. "Look, I thought this guy was a complete goofball when I met him but he's really something else. He's already taken down Buggy the Clown and Don Krieg."
That made Nojiko pause. "Wait, you don't mean the two most wanted pirates around here, do you?"
"Yep! But they were really weak. Maybe the Marines around here just suck…"
Nojiko hurriedly poured herself another cup and downed it in a single gump. "Yeah, um, you go ahead and think that. Nami, you can't be serious with this guy! And how the heck is he your boyfriend?!"
"Hey, it's not that weird!" Luffy griped, "All of the other girls on my crew seem pretty happy!"
Now the bluenette dropped her cup. "What do you mean, 'other girls?' Are you seeing any of them?"
"Yeah, all of them!"
"YOU WHAAAAT?!" Nojiko howled, giving her sister a run for her money with her temper, "So it's not enough you fill her head with insane ideas and draft her onto your crew but now you're cheating on her?! What kind of two-beri tart do you think my sister is?!"
"Nojiko, calm down! It's not like that! We have an… open relationship on our ship."
"Yeah, you want to join too?"
Nami promptly slapped him across the face for one stupid comment too many before devolving into a full-blown argument with Nojiko. The sisters yelled back and forth over how Arlong was going down or how that was impossible, Nojiko insisting that there was no way some random pirate Nami was picked up by could do it if multiple ships full of Marines couldn't even land on their shores. He honestly felt bad if this was how demoralized Arlong had made everyone.
He was about to step in when he picked up something big through Observation Haki, turning to look out the front window. "Uh, girls?"
"WHAT?!" they both shouted.
"Is there a Marine base around here?"
"What, of course not!" Nojiko scoffed, "Otherwise they would have taken care of Arlong years ago."
"Weird, because there's about a hundred sailors coming this way."
Both girls glanced outside and nearly fainted as they spotted dozens of capped men in white heading up the path to the orchard. The only two standouts was the CO in a customized grey uniform with mouse-ears added to his cap to match the whiskers on his face, and a gentleman with a thick moustache, scars all over his face and a scowl like he was hating life right now.
"What the hell is Genzo doing with them?!" Nojiko whispered.
"Don't panic! Just stay in here and let me do the talking!" Nami insisted before going outside to meet the crowd herself.
"Good day, madam," the weaselly Marine cackled, "I am Colonel Nezumi of Marine Branch 16. Do you happen to know where I might find Nami?"
"That's me, sir. What seems to be the problem?"
"Kekekekeke…" he chuckled, making Nami's hair stand on end, "I'm afraid we've found you have quite the career, Nami. You have quite the sticky fingers…"
She gulped down her nerves. "R-Really?"
"Oh, but we've also heard you exclusively target pirates. I think that's enough to avoid formally charging you. But I'm afraid stealing is still stealing, so we'll need to confiscate the stolen goods."
Nami's eyes almost popped out of her head. Dozens of Marines spread out across the orchard, intent on finding her treasure.
"That's what you're here for?!" Genzo ranted, "I kept telling you about Arlong, he's been enslaving us for almost a decade! This girl lost her mother to that monster! And you're focused on some petty thievery?!"
Nojiko burst out through the front door, just as enraged. "What's the matter with you?! We've been waiting for Marines who could finally put that fish-freak in his place for years! Go deal with him!"
"Goodness, such hostility," Nezumi waved off, "I don't suppose either of you colluded with this thief, did you?"
"Sir, we've spotted a recently disturbed patch of dirt several feet long!"
"Well then, dig it up!"
"You're not touching that!" Nami dashed over, summoning a cloud under her feet. She landed a falling blow with her staff to the Marine's shoulder. The shovel clattered out of his hand, but now several of his comrades were pointing guns at Nami.
"Now, now, let's not do anything we'll regret! Stand down, Nami, stealing almost 100 million beris is no little charge!"
Everyone froze in shock, save for one. Luffy stood in the doorway, his arms crossed as his hat hid his eyes. "How did you know?"
"Hm? Who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm Nami's friend. And I asked you, how did you know how much money she had? Nobody said anything."
Several of the sailors turned their weapons on him as Nezumi chuckled, "Young man, it's not wise to interfere with Marine business. You could charged with obstruction of justice, you know."
"JUSTICE MY ASS!" Nojiko howled, "You're working with that fucker, aren't you?! He tipped you off! Nami just got back from Arlong Park and told him she almost had all the money for her deal!"
"You greedy bastard!" Genzo added, "This poor girl has been slaving away for eight years for our sake, and now you're going to rip that away from her at the last minute?!"
"H-Huh?!" Nami balked, "You know about that?! How?!"
"The whole village has known for years. Like anyone would believe a little girl would just willingly work with her mother's killer for money. I grilled Nojiko for the details one day and told everyone else."
The colonel pulled out his own pistol and pointed it at Nojiko's temple. She flinched in shock and glared at the insufferable grin on the rat-man's face.
"Well now, this is all very touching! You three will have plenty of time to sort out your issues behind bars. All of you are under arrest! Now one of you find that money before-!"
"GUM-GUM BULLET!"
The colonel's command died as a fist suddenly rocketed into the side of his head, sending him bowling backwards with his weapon uselessly clattering to the ground. Nojiko followed the punch and saw a rubbery arm connecting to the blow, before watching Luffy snap into place where the colonel once was. A muscled arm rested on her shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine…"
"W-W-What the?!" Nezumi cried, one half of his face already turning blue, "You just struck a Marine officer! I'll have you executed, hooligan! Who do you think you are?!"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and nobody hurts one of my friends. Get out of here right now before I kick all of your asses."
"And now leveling threats?! That's it, I'm reporting you to headquarters! Men, capture him and all of these accomplices!"
"Shave." Luffy suddenly disappeared from sight, terrifying the sailors. Their horror only grew when they suddenly spotted him surrounded by unconscious bodies, Nami literally carried in his arms bridal-style.
"Thank you…" she whispered, shaking in relief, "If you weren't here…"
"Relax, Nami. We're gonna beat that Arlong today. He'll never bother you ever again…"
"Don't just stand there, you morons! Shoot them!"
A dozen Marines readied their muskets and fired, only for a wall of white clouds to suddenly appear between the bullets and the pirates.
"HUH?! She has a Devil Fruit too?! H-He never said anything about that!"
"Who's 'he', asshole?!"
Nojiko had picked up the colonel's firearm and was now aiming right between his legs, unbridled fury in her eyes. "Answer me! Who is 'he?!'"
"Okay, okay, I confess! It was Arloooooong!" he sobbed, cracking in an instant, "H-He's been paying me off for years now! A-And when that girl said she had almost all of the money, h-h-he offered me a thirty percent cut!"
"You… Fucking… BASTARD!" Nojiko stomped down on his nethers as hard as possible, throwing the gun away in her anger, "You're half the reason we've been stuck in this nightmare! And you're doing all of this for money?! Fuck you! How heartless can you get?!"
"P-Please, mercy…"
Nezumi was suddenly hauled to his feet, the collar of his jacket in Luffy's iron grip. The pirate's eyes were so full of white-hot rage that the colonel instantly broke into a sweat. "My grandpa told me about Marines like you… The asshats who just want money and power… I wonder if I can call him and have him deal with you…"
"W-Wait, your grandfather?" he mused before remembering Luffy's last name and he almost fainted on the spot, "Y-Y-You don't m-mean Monkey D. Garp?! T-T-The Hero of the Marines?!"
"Yep, that's him. Man, he is going to be PISSED when he learns about this!"
"N-N-NOOOOOOOOOO! D-D-Don't tell him! I-I'll do anything! Forget about the money, I'll leave!"
Luffy then noticed a Marine to his left pointing a gun straight at him from only a few feet away. Without even looking, he lashed an arm out and crushed the barrel in his hand.
"Get the fuck out of here, go back to your base, and call someone. I don't care who, but you're going to spill the beans about your little operation. And if I find out you didn't…"
Luffy unleashed the full force of his Conqueror's Haki, flooring Nezumi and his entire squad like they were bugs. He turned and saw Genzo was on his knees and the sisters were both looking in total awe.
"Heh, sorry, might have gone a little overboard," he chuckled before literally throwing Nezumi out of the orchard like a sack of trash. Luffy then went around collecting the unconscious sailors, but not without plucking any loose cash or valuables. Funnily enough, the men of branch sixteen seemed to all have wallets stuffed with beri, designer watches and customized firearms…
"Holy cow…" Nojiko gulped as Luffy literally cleaned them out, "Who the hell is he?"
"He's my captain," Nami said with complete pride, "And the man I owe my life to. Now do you see why I believe in him? Arlong is going down today."
As the other ladies of the Straw Hat Pirates arrived, all of them recounting about how they felled more of the fishmen that terrorized these islands, Nojiko actually felt it. A true spark of hope. For the first time in eight years, she was looking forward to tomorrow.
Next time, load up Overtaken on your playlist and have some snacks ready! We're gonna have a good old, no-holds barred beatdown of the Arlong Pirates!