Not long after the Marines scuttled away like the rats they were, Nami stumbled out of the hut. Her gait was unsteady, her legs still jelly from the intense morning session.
"What happened?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe for support.
Darian glanced at her wobbly legs and smirked, but his eyes were cold when he looked back at the retreating Marines.
"Just as we suspected," Darian explained. "Nezumi had a deal with Arlong. Once you gathered the 100 million Berries, he was going to confiscate it. They would split the loot, and you would have been forced to work for Arlong forever."
Nami's face darkened. She had always feared this deep down, but hearing it confirmed made her blood boil.
"Those damn Marines," she spat. "They're just as despicable as the pirates. No... they're worse. They hide behind 'Justice'."
"It's alright," Darian said, his voice calm but deadly. "They won't be spending that money. They'll be feeding the fish."
Nami and Nojiko looked at him in shock.
"Darian... you're not thinking..." Nami started.
"Don't worry," Darian smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "If I killed them here, it would bring an Admiral down on this village. But the sea is dangerous. Whirlpools, storms... tsunamis. Accidents happen."
Nami understood instantly. Darian's Heavenly Path (Vibration) could shake the earth and split the sea. He was going to sink them.
"Let's go to the beach," Darian said, turning around. "We should see our brave boys in white off."
He started walking in his ridiculous floral slippers. Nami followed, wincing slightly with each step.
Nojiko, noticing her sister's awkward walk, frowned with concern. "Nami, are you okay? You're limping. If you're hurt, maybe you should rest."
Nami's face turned nuclear red. "I... I'm fine! Just... cramps! From running!"
She glared daggers at Darian's back. 'If you say one word, I will castrate you.'
Darian felt the murderous intent burning a hole in his back and wisely kept his mouth shut. He quickened his pace. Even with his absorption powers, he didn't want to test Nami's "Fist of Love" right now.
Meanwhile, on the Marine Ship.
Captain Nezumi was in his cabin, trashing the room in a blind rage.
CLANG!
Teacups shattered against the wall. Papers flew everywhere.
"Damn it!" Nezumi shrieked. "100 million Berries! Gone!"
He had spent years cultivating Arlong, letting the fish-man terrorize the East Blue just for this payout. And now, some pretty-boy pirate with lightning powers had ruined everything.
"Colonel," a sycophantic adjutant stammered. "Are we just giving up?"
"No!" Nezumi roared. "We report it! We say we defeated the Arlong Pirates, but a vicious new pirate stole the credit and the loot! We put a bounty on his head so high every hunter in the world comes for him!"
"Brilliant, sir!"
Nezumi grabbed the Den Den Mushi. "Get me Headquarters! I want a bounty on this 'Darian' immediately! Dead or alive!"
Back at the Beach.
Darian, Nami, and Nojiko arrived at the shoreline just as a large shape surfaced from the water.
Splash!
It was Hatchan, the octopus fish-man. He looked confused and panicked.
"Nyu!" Hatchan blubbered. "Nami! Where is Brother Arlong? Where did everyone go? Arlong Park is... gone!"
Hatchan had been out delivering Nezumi to the village during the battle. When he returned, he found only rubble.
Darian's eyes narrowed. He raised his hand, electricity crackling around his fingers. He didn't care if Hatchan was "the nice one." He was Arlong's officer. He was complicit in eight years of slavery.
"I'll handle this," Darian muttered.
But Nami stepped in front of him.
"Wait," she whispered. Then she turned to Hatchan with a deceptively sweet smile.
"Hatchan!" she called out. "The Marines took them! Arlong and the others... they were captured by that Marine ship! They're taking them to Impel Down!"
"WHAT?!" Hatchan's six arms flailed in rage. "Those dirty humans! Brother Arlong! I'm coming to save you!"
"Moo-Moo!" Hatchan roared.
The massive sea cow, Moo-Moo, surfaced, looking battered but loyal. Hatchan jumped on its back.
"Charge!"
The octopus and the sea cow roared toward the Marine ship in the distance.
Nami turned back to Darian, sticking out her tongue mischievously. "Hehe. Pretty clever, right? Let the trash take out the trash."
Darian chuckled, lowering his hand. "You're wicked, Nami. I love it."
On the Marine Ship.
"Yes, yes!" Nezumi shouted into the receiver. "He's extremely dangerous! A lightning user! Put him on the wanted list immediately!"
At Marine Headquarters, the communications officer stared at the photo Nezumi had faxed over. It was a picture of Darian.
'Is this a pirate or a model?' the officer wondered. 'Why would someone this handsome become a criminal?'
Suddenly, Nezumi shrieked. "What the hell?! A sea monster! Open fire!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Through the Den Den Mushi, Headquarters heard chaos. Cannon fire. Screams.
"It's the fish-men! They're attacking! They're sinking us!"
Click.
The line went dead.
Hatchan was strong, but he was one fish-man against a warship. The Marines opened fire with heavy cannons. Moo-Moo squealed in pain as cannonballs splashed around them, eventually diving deep to escape. Hatchan was pinned down.
"Well," Darian said, watching the distant battle. "Hatchan bought us some time. But those cannons are annoying."
He walked to the water's edge.
"Let's end this."
Darian clenched his right fist. A sphere of white, vibrating light formed around it.
"Heavenly Path: Sea Tremor."
CRACK!
He punched the air.
The atmosphere shattered like a mirror. A massive shockwave rippled out across the ocean floor.
The water receded from the shore, sucked back into the deep... and then returned as a massive wall of water.
A tsunami, fifty meters high, rose up behind the Marine ship.
"Oh god!" Nezumi screamed from the deck, looking up at the wave of death.
CRASH!
The tsunami swallowed the ship whole. The wood splintered like matchsticks. The ship capsized, dragged down into the crushing depths by the whirlpools created by the vibration.
Silence returned to the coast. The ship was gone. Nezumi was gone. Arlong was gone.
Darian turned to Nami and Nojiko, dusting off his hands.
"Problem solved," he grinned. "Now, who's hungry?"
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