Departure from Konomi
We left the village under cheers. Johnny and Yosaku stayed on the dock, waving with tears in their eyes.
"We're not strong enough for Grand Line, Big Brother Zoro!" Johnny cried.
"Get stronger and join us someday!" Zoro replied.
The Going Merry slowly drifted away. Nami was at the helm, a big smile on her lips – the first real smile I'd seen on her in a long time.
She had done her shopping by "borrowing" generously from the villagers who absolutely wanted to thank her. Her bag was filled with bills and provisions.
"Nami-swan is so beautiful when she smiles!" Sanji gushed.
"Shut up, spiral eyebrows."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, MOSS HEAD?!"
Introduction of Mr. Fish
I came out of the Foundation with Mr. Fish. He looked around with wonder – it was the first time he'd seen the sky in weeks.
"Everyone!" I called. "Come meet our new... resident."
They all approached, and their reactions were... varied.
Luffy: "WOOOOAH! HE HAS A FISH HEAD!"
Usopp: "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"
Zoro: "Weird."
Sanji: "..."
Nami approached cautiously. "Is that... a fishman?"
"No," I explained. "He's just a normal man who woke up one day with a fish head. He can't breathe underwater. He doesn't have fishmen strength. He's just... Mr. Fish."
Mr. Fish bowed politely. "Pleased to meet you. Just call me Mr. Fish."
Luffy observed him with fascination. "Can you swim?"
"Uh... yes?"
"LET'S RACE!"
Before anyone could react, Luffy jumped overboard.
SPLASH!
Then he realized.
"WAIT... I CAN'T SWIM!"
He sank like a stone.
Mr. Fish, panicking, also jumped to save him. But he was weakened after days of imprisonment, and the waves from the ship's wake quickly overwhelmed him.
"SHIT!" Sanji dove into the water.
A few minutes later, he brought both drowners back on deck. Luffy and Mr. Fish were coughing up water, completely soaked.
"YOU'RE IDIOTS!" Nami shouted.
But Sanji looked at Mr. Fish with new respect. "You jumped to save Luffy. You're a good guy."
Mr. Fish blushed – as much as a fish can blush. "It was... natural."
New Dynamics
Days passed at sea. The crew developed new routines.
Luffy, Walter, and Usopp became inseparable. They played together – often stupid games Luffy invented. They ate together – Walter gobbling as much as Luffy. They slept together – all three piled up like puppies.
"They're cute," Nami commented.
"They're noisy," Zoro grumbled.
Zoro spent his days training. Dumbbells. Push-ups. Exercises with his sabers. He never stopped, pushing his body beyond its limits.
Sanji and Mr. Fish became friends. Mr. Fish, a gentleman and amateur cook, helped Sanji in the kitchen during his free hours. They discussed recipes, techniques, and sometimes nothing at all.
"You're a good guy, Mr. Fish," Sanji said one day.
"Thank you. You're a good person too, Sanji-san."
Nami navigated with precision, adjusting the sails according to wind and currents. She was in her element, free for the first time in her life.
And me? I had a Foundation to manage.
In the Surveillance Room
I entered the Foundation and headed to the surveillance room. Dozens of screens covered the walls, showing every corner of the complex.
The guards patrolled silently. The contained SCPs were motionless. And in the Class-D quarters...
Arlong had just woken up.
[POV CHANGE: ARLONG]The Awakening
Arlong opened his eyes.
White light. Blinding. He groaned and looked away.
Where... where am I?
He was in a cell. Four meters by four. Concrete walls. Tiled floor. A hard bed. Toilets. A sink.
And steel handcuffs on his wrists.
He tried to force them. His muscles tensed. His veins swelled.
CLANG. CLANG.
Nothing. The steel didn't budge a millimeter.
"What the...?"
He stood up and looked through the bars. A corridor. Long. White. Immaculate. With a large black symbol on the opposite wall.
Three arrows in a circle.
FOUNDATION
"What the hell is this?"
It reminded him of Impel Down. The underwater prison. But there, there had been torture from the start. Here? Just... silence.
He shook his head to chase away the memories and started pulling on the bars.
Nothing.
The Patrol
Footsteps.
Arlong rushed to the bars and shouted. "YOU WEAKLINGS! OPEN THIS DOOR! FIGHT LIKE MEN!"
A patrol of guards passed. Identical. Helmets. Bulletproof vests. FAMAS.
They completely ignored him.
"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
They kept walking and disappeared around the corner.
Arlong hit the bars, furious. "COME BACK HERE!"
Nothing.
He sighed and sat on the hard bed.
Then he heard a moan next to his cell.
"Boss..."
Arlong jumped up and pressed his head against the bars, looking left.
Kuroobi stuck his head out of his own cell, face bandaged.
"Where are we, boss?" he asked, clearly dazed.
"In a prison. Probably a Marine base. But something's not right here."
"What?"
Arlong pointed to the symbol on the wall. "It looks more like a laboratory than a prison. And I've never seen this symbol."
To the right of Arlong's cell, another sound. Chew stuck his head out – a metal device in his mouth preventing him from spitting water as a weapon.
He could only communicate with head nods and grimaces.
"We're in deep shit," Kuroobi murmured.
The Announcement
A robotic voice echoed in the walls.
CLASS-D. PLEASE KEEP HANDS CLOSE TO BODY TO GO TO CAFETERIA.
The three fishmen exchanged confused looks.
"We're going to... eat?" Kuroobi asked.
"It's a trap," Arlong growled. "In Impel Down, you never leave your cell. You share with other prisoners and eat on the floor."
"So we don't go?"
Arlong hesitated. "We wait. We don't know where we are. It's suicide."
The cell doors opened automatically.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
Guards – all identical – positioned themselves next to each cell, FAMAS pointed.
Arlong, Kuroobi, and Chew came out slowly. Even though they were a few centimeters taller than the guards, Arlong towered a head higher.
But these weapons... their instinct screamed not to mess around.
A guard led the way. Kuroobi and Chew followed. Arlong brought up the rear, three other guards behind him.
"Where's Hatchan?" Arlong asked aloud.
Silence.
He spat on the floor, frustrated.
They crossed identical corridors. Doors with the same logo. Then they arrived in a huge interior courtyard – large enough to accommodate a hundred prisoners.
But there were only three of them.
The guards began to deactivate the safety on their weapons.
Arlong, Kuroobi, and Chew sweated.
"This is the final fight," Kuroobi murmured.
The robotic voice echoed again.
CLASS-D. PUT YOURSELVES AGAINST THE WALL, HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK TO GO TO CAFETERIA.
They didn't move.
TASER ACTIVATED.
ZAP. ZAP. ZAP.
The three fishmen collapsed, convulsing on the ground.
While they were paralyzed, the guards removed their handcuffs and Chew's muzzle, then threw them behind the door which closed with a heavy sound.
Supervised Freedom
A few seconds later, they got up. Resistant. Even tasers didn't keep them down long.
Chew spat the metallic taste from his mouth. "Where are we? Why are we free?"
They all looked at Arlong for an answer.
"Follow me."
He sat at a table. The others joined him.
"We must be in an underground government laboratory," he said quietly.
"They underestimate us by leaving us free," Kuroobi growled.
Arlong pointed upward. Guards on the walkway. Black cameras zooming in on them.
"We're being watched."
Chew shivered. "This building... it's too clean. Too empty. It doesn't look like the government."
"And these symbols everywhere," Kuroobi added. "FOUNDATION. What is it?"
"A lab under the World Government, probably. They have technology too advanced to be anything else."
They took trays and were served by an automated robot. They ate in silence, stomachs knotted.
"Where's Hatchan?" Kuroobi finally asked.
Arlong gritted his teeth. "I hope he's still alive."
The voice echoed.
RETURN TO YOUR CELLS, CLASS-D. AWAITING A RESEARCHER.
The word "researcher" chilled them.
They were test subjects.
[RETURN TO POV: MARC]Observation
I watched the screens with satisfaction.
Arlong, Kuroobi, and Chew were returning to their cells, clearly terrified.
"Perfect," I murmured. "Fear will make them cooperative."
[CLASS-D: STABLE STATUS]
[HATCHAN: BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY]
[OBJECTIVE: ANALYZE PHYSIOLOGY AND BREEDING TALENTS]
"And the other two?"
[DECEASED DURING ESCAPE ATTEMPT]
[BODIES ELIMINATED]
"Too bad. But we have what we need."
I stood up and left the surveillance room.
It was time to return to the deck.
Loguetown was approaching.
And with it... other anomalies.
[END OF CHAPTER 17]
[ACTIVE CLASS-D: 4 (ARLONG, KUROOBI, CHEW, HATCHAN)]
[DECEASED CLASS-D: 2]
[STATUS: FOUNDATION OPERATIONAL]
[GUARD TEAM: 100 UNITS]
[NEXT DESTINATION: LOGUETOWN]
[SYMBIOSIS SCP-006: 99%]
[ANOMALIES SOUGHT: IN PROGRESS...]