"Seriously, you can't be actually thinking about it, right? That guy is way too dangerous!" Still keeping her arms linked with her elder adoptive sister, Nami huffed and continued to rant as she and Nojiko walked downhill toward Cocoyashi Village.
Keeping a smile and realizing that this may have been the longest she'd smiled in a day in the last 8 years and just too grateful to have her sister safe and sound, Nojiko hummed, "Well, I say it's almost unfair to no go out when I am young enough for an adventure. Like your dream of making the map of this world, I too have a dream, you know..."
Nami's eyelids jumped in surprise as she questioned, "Really? How come you never talked about it?"
"Because..." Nojiko smiled sadly as her words made Nami purse her lips and coil her arm around Nojiko's arm even tighter.
"I... didn't know... sorry."
"Don't you worry!" Nojiko chuckled and nudged Nami's shoulder, "I know I am super late for it but... I want to make good of my time now."
"But what if I go out elsewhere?" Nami questioned.
"Then I'd pray for you," Nojiko shrugged, "If anything, I can barely compete with you."
"Heh, right~!" Nami chuckled, "Come on, let's toss some filth on that Superior Creature!"
The Duo quickly reached the boisterous tavern of the village still marked with loud cheers and clinks of jugs and glasses as they laughed and let the 'Superior' Race know their places. The duo would have almost felt bad if not for the fact that they'd been oppressed by these scums from early on.
The moment Nami reached the tavern, others instinctively quietened down. Even the fishmen bound in a large, singular metal bar glared at Nami as one of the fishmen, the one with exaggerated lips that popped out had his lips tied shut, too. Nami still recalled how easily their 'savior' bent the pipe around the fishmen as a whole and even if there may have been a chance for a Fishman as strong as Arlong to escape, he was simply too injured to even move.
For a second, Nami's breath seized up when she matched Arlong's stare but Nojiko's hand on her shoulders helped her relax somewhat.
"You lost..." Nami wondered, speaking with Arlong after his defeat for the first time. She couldn't have imagined herself speaking these words a few days ago but that's where they were.
Arlong lost. Someone who could flip houses was broken to such an extent... this only made Nami more cautious of Brody.
"H-heh... lost?" Arlong chuckled weakly, his words echoing in the silent tavern as he took a deep breath and roared, "DON'T YOU UNDERESTIMATE US FISHMEN, WEAKLINGS!!"
Everyone silently stared at Arlong for a whole minute before breaking into loud, rambunctious laughter, one of them even throwing their empty mug at Arlong and others soon followed the suit.
Glaring at Arlong coldly, her hand reaching up to her left shoulder that had a blue tattoo similar to a shark, Nami scowled and picked up the nearest jug of ale and then went up to Arlong to pour the drink on his head. "Then do something about this, Arlong," she whispered coldly. While her voice was drowned in the laughter, Arlong could hear her perfectly fine, "A weakling just dumped ale on you."
"Human Witch!" One of the more robust fishmen with light blue skin glared at her, "All of you will die! Especially that man..."
The cheers and the laugh did get quieter as everyone began to feel soft tremors and then outright trembling of the building. Their eyes widened and Genzo, bandaged from his earlier injuries, shouted, "Get out of the building now!"
"HAA— HAHAHAHA!" Arlong laughed as many fishmen suddenly bit down on the metal pipe and while not as strong as Arlong, they did have tough jaws and hellish bites!
Before everyone could evacuate the Tavern, a set of giant horns tore into the structure as the ceiling crumbled over many, and a terrifying monster finally grew visible under dim moonlight with a strange, multi-limbed figure sitting on top of it!
"Nami, run!" Nojiko screamed and as Nami pulled back, the blue-skinned Fishman clutched onto Nami's hand after freeing one of his arms.
"Where do you think you're going?" Arlong grinned, "Round her sister, too, Hachi!"
---
"So... you're not a Captain, huh? Don't look so down. Being a Captain isn't all that good. Come on, drink up~!" Brody poured Usopp more rum as everyone sat around Nojiko's table. After the initial 'confrontation' that devolved into a mighty blaming argument, Brody and others entered the house to fix the damage... but Zoro found the booze stash and that landed everyone on the table with a wide plate of cracker snacks created by Sanji.
"You think so?" Usopp looked at Brody.
"Of course! Now, how about it, Sanji? Wanna ditch the Bubble Squirt and be my cook?" Brody looked at Sanji with his red eyes glimmering as if he'd found a treasure!
"Hah? Who're you calling a Bubble Squirt? Sanji is MY cook!" Luffy growled while Johnny and Yosaku, Zoro's former teammates, drank their share silently just like Zoro who seemed uninterested in the conversation.
"There's only one Bubble Squirt here who can't swim, right? Of course, you can swim and prove me wrong!" Brody smirked as Luffy stood up, "Yosh! I'll swim around the island—"
"No, you won't!" Sanji shouted while slapping the back of Luffy's head, "Sit down! Sigh... and you, I'm already a part of Straw Hat Pirates. I won't join your Devil Back Crew... by the way, where did you even come from?"
"Me?" Brody was as quick to drop the topic of recruiting Sanji as he was quick to bring it up, "I'm not from around here."
"More precisely?" Usopp questioned as Brody grinned, "I was thrown away by god and fell from heaven to grace the ocean~!"
Everyone except Luffy rolled their eyes as he stuffed his mouth with crackers and munched while speaking, "Heaven? Food good there?"
"Eh, had to hunt and eat alone," Brody shrugged, "Anyway, since you guys grew on me and did take good care of my navigator, I should warn you that Grandline is gonna be hell... so you know, pack loads of booze with you. That'll help you survive."
"You've been there?" Usopp looked at Brody while Luffy hissed, "Nami is MY Navigator!"
"I haven't explored Grandline," Brody gulped on his rum, "I've been following trails of a man I want to defeat... I think he entered Grandline only now. So, I'll follow him," he smiled, "And probably have fun along the way. You know, food, booze, and women!"
"Food..." Luffy started to salivate.
"Booze..." Zoro raised his brows in attention.
"Women~!" Sanji practically moaned while holding his hands together.
"These guys are hopeless..." Usopp muttered under his breath.
"Nah, who doesn't have a desire or two? That's one of the major reasons for our strength," Brody laughed while raising his mug, "To sire hundreds and be the best damn husband and father!"
"To be the Strongest Swordsman!" Zoro was quick to follow whenever alcohol was involved.
"To finding All-Blue!" Sanji smirked.
"T-To be the Bravest Warrior!" Usopp stuttered.
"Hihi! To be the King of Pirates!" Luffy grinned.
"Uh... To Survive!" Johnny raised his mug followed by Yosaku, "To live past 40!"
"WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!!"
Genzo barged into Nojiko's house, finding seven mugs raised with grins pressed on everyone's faces, "A-Arlong escaped! He called his monster and he's now back at Arlong Park... H-he took Nami and Nojiko!"
"Ok? Way to go harshing our buzz, Gen-san..." Brody huffed, "Right, where were we?" he looked at everyone and grinned, "Cheers!"
"CHEERS!!"
They all smiled.
"Now, you heartless monsters, I need to go save my crewmates." Brody snorted as everyone's expression on the table cramped up slightly.
---
"Ha— Hahahahaha! Mohmoo's milk is as great as ever!" Arlong laughed as he sat on his chair with the ransacked Arlong Park behind him while dozens of Fishmen stood around him, ready with their weapons. Next to Arlong were Nami and Nojiko, their condition worse than usual as their lips were bruised and blue while blood leaked from the corner of their lips. Bruises that should have wrought the bodies of the fishmen now decorated the duo's body as they sat silently.
"Oh, Nami, did you really think Humans can defeat us? What a fool you'd become after stealing from other pirates! Take these two in that room she loves the most!" Arlong grinned as Nami silently bit her lips.
As Nami and Nojiko left, Arlong narrowed his eyes, "Now that the hostages are out of the way... We will prepare. It won't take long for that man and Nami's other friends including that Pirate Hunter Zoro to arrive. I'll deal with the redheaded bastard... you will take care of the rest. Take other villages hostages if you have to!"
"But... Arlong-san... isn't that a weak—" the thin Fishman who had just spoken up gulped as Arlong roared, "We Fishmen are the strongest physically and intellectually! So what if we must scheme?! Schemes are necessary to build my empire!"
Turning to the one who saved them all, the pink-fleshed Octopus Fishman with a red sun tattoo on his forehead, Arlong remarked somberly, "Call Nezumi... tell him that the Cocoyashi Village is joining with pirates. He'll know what to do then."
"Yes! Ah... Now?" The Fishman questioned as Arlong snapped, "Now!"
