Recruiting Nami (Destroying Arlong Park)
I glanced at the fish-men charging straight at me, then drew my Zanpakuto like a quick-draw strike and slashed it horizontally. Slice! The moment I severed the neck of the one leading the pack, the rest froze in shock. In that brief window, I used Flash Step to slip right into the middle of the stunned group.
When they finally snapped out of it and tried to attack, I shouted the release command for my Zanpakuto with a grin.
"All things of the world, become ashes—
Ryujin Jakka
Red flames erupted from the blade as I swung. Every fish-man around me was sliced apart and burned alive in an instant.
Arlong and his officers stared at their slaughtered subordinates with pure rage, but they didn’t dare approach. I looked far stronger than they’d expected. So I sneered at Arlong, the octopus swordsman whose name I barely remembered, the big-mouthed fish, and the martial artist fish.
“Hey, half-breeds. That’s all you’ve got? Pathetic. Then again, what can you expect from a bunch of Celestial Dragon slaves?”
I ignored the chat exploding with reactions and focused on the four fish-men—including Arlong—who were now thoroughly provoked. They came at me with everything they had.
[Fish-Man Karate: Tile-Breaking Palm]
[Six Sword Style: Octopus Jar]
[Water Gun: Rapid Fire]
They were using what they probably thought were impressive techniques, but they were way too slow. With another Flash Step, I vanished from right in front of them. The fish-men whipped their heads around, searching for me. By then I was already behind Arlong. I slammed my foot into his back with all my strength.
Bam!
Crash!
Arlong flew straight into a wall and embedded himself in it. I left the unconscious shark for later and walked over to the octopus swordsman who was standing there in a daze.
“Gwaaaah!”
“Shut up, octopus head.”
I sliced off all six arms he was so proud of. The octopus bastard screamed in agony and rolled around on the ground. Behind me, I sensed killing intent through Observation Haki.
“Die!!!!”
I caught the big-mouthed fish’s incoming punch with my left hand, then brought Ryujin Jakka down from above with my right.
Swoosh!
In a normal world that would’ve split him clean in half, but since this was a shonen manga setting, it was apparently too graphic. Instead, a deep vertical gash opened across his body. He collapsed, bleeding out. I turned my attention to the martial artist fish.
Kuroobi was slowly backing away. Watching his comrades get sliced apart and burned alive with every swing of my blade had clearly terrified him. He was retreating without even realizing it.
“Hey~ Mr. Self-Proclaimed Martial Artist. Where do you think you’re going? Get over here.”
Kuroobi finally realized he was scared, but he couldn’t think of any way out. The best option seemed to be attacking with the technique he was most confident in.
“Hah!!”
He let out a battle cry and charged at me. Once he got close, he raised his right arm high and shouted.
“Don’t underestimate a fish-man! [Fish-Man Karate: Tile-Breaking Palm]!”
He brought his knife-hand down toward my head. I let out a sigh and spoke in a lazy voice.
“This again? I told you it’s too slow~”
I casually blocked the descending hand with one arm, then kicked the martial artist fish square in the stomach.
Bam!
“Ugh!”
Using Flash Step again, I appeared behind the airborne fish-man and slammed my foot into his back, snapping his spine. After he died from just two hits, I walked past his corpse and approached the unconscious Arlong.
“Whew~ Looks like it’s just you left, you bastard.”
I grabbed the hair of the still-dazed Arlong, yanked him out of the wall, and hurled him into another one. The impact woke him up. He saw his fallen comrades and roared in fury, but I didn’t care. I charged in again, grabbed the back of his head, and smashed his face into the wall once more.
“Gwaaaaaah!!!”
The pain and humiliation of being beaten so one-sidedly made Arlong’s eyes turn into those of a shark. He shook me off and dove into the water.
“Oh? So half-breeds really do get faster underwater, huh? Come on then, fish-face. Let’s see how fast you really are.”
Using Observation Haki, I could sense Arlong glaring at me from beneath the surface.
[Shark On Dart]
He burst out of the water at high speed, aiming his sharp nose at me like a torpedo. I considered burning him to death, but I wanted the villagers to see Arlong get thoroughly humiliated. It needed to be louder and flashier. Spotting a building behind me, I simply jumped to dodge. Arlong crashed straight into it.
I turned to the viewers and said, “Guys, is his head just for decoration? I barely moved and he slammed right into it.”
Following the viewers’ comment, I entered the building and headed for the room that looked like it would contain Nami’s maps. Sure enough, it was filled with countless sea charts and a well-worn fountain pen. Seeing that, I decided I was definitely going to chop off every limb that bastard Arlong had for making my favorite suffer.
At that moment—
Boom!
“Die!!!!”
Arlong burst through the wall from the next room, wielding a saw-like sword. He swung it at me. I jumped over the horizontal slash, landed on the flat of the blade, and sprinted forward to kick him square in the face again.
Bam!
I ignored Arlong as he flew outside and decided it was time to burn down both the room where Nami had been held and the entire Arlong Park. I leaped with all my strength, shattering the ceiling, and jumped higher than the building itself. Then I swung Ryujin Jakka as if scattering all its flames toward Arlong Park.
Boom—boomboomboom!!!
The powerful flames exploded outward and the entire building was engulfed in fire.
When I looked for Arlong, I saw him staring at his burning stronghold with pure rage. I used Flash Step again to appear right in front of him. He glared at me and roared.
“You inferior creature!! Why?! What did I ever do to you that you would attack me, kill my comrades, and burn down Arlong Park?!”
I let out a hollow laugh at how ridiculous that sounded. By then, the villagers had gathered in front of the burning park after seeing the flames. And right at the front was Nami. I glanced at her once before speaking to Arlong.
“Then why did you do all those things to these villagers? What exactly did they ever do to you?”
Arlong snorted. “Hmph! What’s wrong with superior beings like us ruling over inferior creatures?!”
“You’re spouting absolute nonsense. You’re nothing but filthy pirate scum who exploited peaceful villagers, killed them on a whim, murdered a little girl’s family, blackmailed her, forced her to work for you, and tormented her for years… You have no idea how much Nami suffered. That’s why I’m killing all of you.”
Arlong sneered and tried to say something else, but I was already sick of listening.
“Fish-face, just shut up. I don’t want to hear it.”
I swung my Zanpakuto.
Slice!!
“Gwaaaaaah!”
I cut off both of Arlong’s legs. As he collapsed in agony, I cauterized the stumps with flames so he wouldn’t die from blood loss, then sliced off both arms and burned those too. Finally, I grabbed his head, threw him aside, and walked over to Nami and the villagers.
The villagers looked at me with a mix of joy, shock, and fear, taking a few steps back. I understood. A complete stranger had just shown up and turned everything upside down. They couldn’t exactly celebrate without reservation. Still, I approached them.
“Miss Nami, you said earlier that if someone could tear Arlong and his crew apart, you’d even sell your soul to the devil. Well, I’m not the devil, so I don’t need your soul… Will you become my crewmate instead?”
“Why are you going this far just to recruit me?”
“The truth is, I already knew about you, Miss Nami. I can’t tell you how I know yet… but I wanted to help you. And the people of Cocoyasi Village. I was too weak back then, so I was too late. But now that I’m strong enough, I came to save you. My offer to make you my crewmate is sincere, but more than anything, I really wanted to help you.”
“Thank you…”
Hearing those words, Nami thought for a moment, then began to cry, expressing her gratitude. When she saw Arlong lying there in pieces, she finally realized it was truly over. She and the villagers cheered and celebrated together.
That was when the Marines arrived, drawn by the commotion. At the front was a rat-faced officer who looked like he was in charge.
“Squeak squeak. What’s this? Arlong’s already finished? Hey, you there. Did you do all this?”
I was pissed, but since he was a Marine on the surface, I played dumb.
“Yes. I did it.”
“I am Marine Captain Nezumi. You and every villager here are under arrest!”
“Men! I was told Arlong hid his stolen goods near the tangerine grove. Arrest these people until I find them!”
“How did you know about the tangerine grove?! Even Arlong didn’t know that!”
“Hmm? Ah~ So you’re the girl called Nami! Squeak squeak. You think Arlong wouldn’t have known?”
“What?! But even if Arlong knew… Don’t tell me you—!”
“I thought that idiot Arlong would last longer so I could use him a bit more, but he got taken out so quickly.”
“You were working with Arlong?!”
“Working with him? Shut your mouth, you little brat! I was simply using that pirate scum. How dare you suggest we were partners!”
“How can a Marine do something like this?! I’m going to report you!”
The rat-faced Marine sneered at Nami.
“Squeak squeak! I can just arrest all of you villagers as Arlong’s accomplices. How exactly do you plan to report me, girl?!”
The villagers protested. The Marines with Nezumi raised their guns, pressuring the crowd. I stepped between the villagers and the Marines.
“What? You’re going to rebel against the Marines too?!”
In a flash, I disarmed every Marine. I grabbed Nezumi by the collar.
“Rat-face, shut up for a second.”
I quickly subdued him, pressed my sword to his throat, pulled out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, and called Garp.
Ring ring ring~ Ring ring ring~ Click!
“Hm? Jin, what’s going on?”
“Grandpa, did the certificate I asked for come through?”
“Yeah, Sengoku took care of it. I sent it via News Coo. It should arrive soon.”
“Thank you. By the way, Grandpa… is it okay if I beat up a corrupt Marine who’s been colluding with pirates, exploiting villagers, and tormenting them? He just tried to attack me and the villagers to steal their money and frame them.”
Hearing that, Nezumi muttered quietly, “I never said I’d kill them…”
I glared at him and he shut his mouth. Then Garp’s voice exploded through the Den Den Mushi so loudly it nearly burst my ears.
“What?! What kind of bastards—?! Marines colluding with pirates?! And killing civilians?! These sons of bitches—!!!”
Garp’s furious voice grew distant. Someone cleared their throat.
“Ahem! Kid, are you the one called Jin? I am Fleet Admiral Sengoku.”
At the mention of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Nezumi’s face turned deathly pale and he broke into a cold sweat.
“Fleet Admiral Sengoku?! How does a brat like this know the Admiral—?!”
“I told you to shut up.”
Thud!
I smacked the back of his head with the hilt of my Zanpakuto and knocked him out.
“Yes, hello, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I’ve heard a lot about you from my grandfather.”
“Hmm? You seem much more polite than Garp or his bloodline. Anyway, what you just told Garp—is it true?”
“Yes, it is. The rat-faced Marine is apparently a captain named Nezumi. I have him subdued right now. The villagers heard everything too. Given that he’s been colluding with a pirate named Arlong for quite a long time, searching the Marine office should turn up plenty of evidence.”
“Understood. I’ll confirm it immediately and dispatch Marines. And to the residents of Cocoyasi Village listening… I am Fleet Admiral Sengoku of Marine Headquarters. It is my failure that such trash existed among my subordinates, causing you all such great harm. As a Marine who upholds justice, I am deeply ashamed and sincerely apologize. Of course, we will offer proper reparations and formal apologies later, but I wish to apologize here and now once again.”
Hearing those words, Nami and the villagers shed tears of relief.
“Kid, I’ve sent the Government Certified Pirate Hunter certificate, so try not to cause too much trouble and keep catching pirates like you did today. Sorry about this mess, and thank you.”
“I’ll definitely catch Morgan for you. As for that Peace Main guy, he’s still a pirate, but I’ll decide whether to catch him depending on the situation.”
“That’s fine. Since you’re not a Marine, that much is acceptable. If you ever make it to the Grand Line, let’s meet in person sometime.”
“Yes. Take care, Admiral. And please calm Grandpa Garp down for me.”
Click!
I hung up the Den Den Mushi and looked at the celebrating villagers.
“Hey everyone? It’s all over now, so let’s head back to the village!”
The villagers cheered and shouted about throwing a festival. Then Nami walked up to me.
“You’re coming too, right? Thanks to you, our village has been freed from Arlong. We can’t have a festival without you!”
With that, she ran over to Nojiko. For a second her face looked a little red… Was that a green light?
I had forgotten I was still streaming and only now looked at the chat. Still, it felt good to have handled everything cleanly, so I smiled and answered the viewers.
“Did you all enjoy the show?”
“Alright~ Time to start collecting donations.”
“Come on, where else would these people get to watch a fight like this?! And did you not see how happy Nami is? Shouldn’t you guys be donating generously at a moment like this?”
Jingle!
(Pirate King) has donated 100,000 won.
“Hah~ Can’t really argue with that logic. Fine, here you go!”
“Thank you so much, Pirate King-nim!”
Starting with that donation, the sound of incoming tips kept ringing nonstop for a while.