The outskirt of Cocoyashi village - Mikan Groven.

 

While Sebas was 'cleaning' Arlong's Park of its filth, Nojiko had just finished narrating her tragic story.

To summarize what she said, when she was a little girl, she and her younger sister Nami lived with their adoptive mother, Bellemere. Although they were poor, and despite not being related by blood, they lived happily together.

But upon Arlong's arrival, everything changed as the Shark-Fishman demanded that the island citizens pay him for their lives - 100,000 Berries per adult and 50,000 Berries per child.

Needless to say, Bellemere could not pay this fee, only being able to come up with 100,000 Berries, and although the two little girls were hiding when the fishmen came knocking at her door, she still decided to sacrifice her own life so that her daughters could live freely.

Arlong agreed to Bellemere's terms and killed her in front of the two little girls, and not only that, but upon discovering Nami's cartography skills, Arlong took the little girl with him, deciding her skills would be helpful to his ambition.

Later on, at Bellemere's grave, Nami revealed to Nojiko that she had made a deal with Arlong to buy back Cocoyasi Village for 100,000,000 Berries.

And since that day, she started sailing alone and stealing from the pirates to accumulate the required money for the deal.

 

.....

After Nojiko finished, Austin couldn't help but get furious. Even though he knew the story beforehand, he didn't know some of the details told by Nojiko.

He was reminded again of the brutality of this world and felt rage towards Arlong and his crew, while on the other hand, he couldn't help but respect Nami more.

' I'm not watching anime anymore. This isn't just a background story anymore, but the reality now!' - He sighed, looking at Nojiko. - ' This woman is really strong, even though Nami had it tough, but this woman also had her fair share of suffering as well.'

 

Austin glanced at Genzo and noticed the latter gritting his teeth while clenching his fists hard under the table.

" Thanks for telling us the truth." Austin smiled slightly. " I apologize for making you remember all those painful memories again."

" It's okay," Nojiko smiled painfully.

" But I'm still confused about something!" Austin said, narrowing his eyes.

" Yes ?!" Nojiko replied, surprised about his remark.

" Why did Arlong send that Navy captain now ?!" Austin asked.

He was genuinely surprised since the story wasn't supposed to proceed like this. He knew it was likely a butterfly effect he caused since that was the only answer he could think of. But he didn't know where or when exactly did it go wrong.

 

" Actually, I think it's probably Nami's fault this time!" Nojiko sighed as she replied.

" How so?!" Austin was puzzled by her answer.

" Some days ago, Nami returned with a huge catch. She brought back 10 million Berries with her that time. " Nojiko smiled bitterly and added, " She was so excited since that meant she only needed another 2 million Berries to finish her deal with Arlong!"

" Huh?!" Austin was shocked by this revelation.

'Oh, Shit! It was that time!' - Austin cursed in his mind. He still remembers meeting Nami in Orange town. He was the one who gave her the 10 million Berries after she taught Brain all her navigation skills.

' The fucking butterfly effect.' - Austin sighed as he shook his head.

Even though what he did back then was done with the intention of helping Nami and her village, he didn't expect his actions back then to cause such dramatical changes. He couldn't help but feel a little bit of guilt.

If he wasn't here, Nezumi would probably succeed in getting the money, the villagers would retaliate in response, and the fishmen will probably slaughter more than half of them and leave the other hall as a chain binding Nami so that she couldn't run away.

Austin couldn't help but shiver at the thought of Nami returning to her home only to find her sister dead and her village destroyed. He was reminded again that this is the reality now and that every action he takes has a chain of reactions and consequences.

 

" But how did Arlong know she was about to finish collecting money?!" Austin asked another puzzling question he found difficult to understand.

"That's why I told you before it was probably Nami's mistake. She likely got excited and went to see Arlong and reminded him to keep his promise before she left on her voyage." Nojiko explained with a bitter smile.

" I see!" Austin thought it was a reasonable possibility.

" But I don't know though how Arlong managed to pinpoint exactly where Nami kept her money hidden, " Nojiko remarked, clearly still bewildered by this fact.

' Well, I know how! It's that bastard Kuroobi doing.' - Austin knew the answer but decided to keep it to himself, thinking. - ' I should stick to my act and continue faking ignorance about what's going on here until she explains things to me herself. After all, I'm not supposed to know what if even she, as Nami's sister, doesn't know yet.'

 

Genzo, who was silent this whole time, examining Austin's behavior during the talk, decided to ask the question he was concerned about after concluding that Austin wasn't probably an evil person.

"Ahem...Um... isn't that old man in danger since he has gone alone to Arlong park?!" Genzo gathered his courage as he asked.

"Those weaklings aren't a challenge for any of my men," Austin replied confidently, which stunned both Nojiko and Genzo as the latter stood up and said in a shaky voice.

" Then...did you truly mean what you said early?!"

" Rest assured, since I'm here. This nightmare shall end today!" Austin said in a deep voice.

Austin was confident because, while Nojiko was recounting her story, many notifications appeared on his interface informing him of the fishmen's death or defeat at the hand of Sebas.

Furthermore, the last notification he received just after Nojiko finished talking was the one announcing the defeat of Arlong himself.

 

Austin suddenly stood up, surprising both Nojiko and Genzo, and said. " I will be leaving for Arlong Park now. Sebas should have already finished things up there."

" Wait!... Can I also come to Park alongside the other villagers ?!" Genzo asked quickly.

" Do as you like, but I'm not waiting for anyone's arrival" Austin then went out, followed by Zero. The duo used 'Soru' to head fast toward Arlong park.

 

.....

Back in Nojiko's house., Genzo and Nojiko were looking at where Austin was sitting before.

"Is this a dream ?!" Genzo murmured to himself.

" Do you think they can take down the Arlong pirates ?!" Nojiko asked uncertainly.

" I don't know ... but from what we saw ... I think they can, " Genzo paused and added." Anyways, we will know when we arrive there."

Genzo then left for Cocoyashi village to gather the villagers and announce the possibility of the Arlong pirate's defeat.

Nojiko, on the other hand, just sat there at the table, looking in a daze at a certain picture of two little girls and a woman.

 

.....

Conomi islands - Arlong Park.

 

Sebas had just finished dealing with Arlong. He looked down at the now heavily injured Shark-Fishman, who was barely conscious.

Suddenly he heard footsteps, and just as he was about to attack, he stopped after hearing a familiar voice.

" Relax, Sebas, it's just me, Brain!" Brain walked into the Park with the unconscious Navy officer, Rayan, on his shoulder.

" Hoo! So it's mister Brain!" Sebas smiled gently.

" You really have gone all out, huh?" Brain exclaimed, glancing at all the scattered fishmen's bodies on the ground.

" It appears you have also finished your task successfully," Sebas said as he glanced at the unconscious Navy officer on Brain's shoulder.

" Well, my task was much easier. All I had to do was to knock out some weaklings and bring their ship closer to the Park." Brain looked at Rayan. " As for this idiot, he may be useful to our lord."

" I see! You are really thoughtful, mister Brain!" Sebas praised.

" It's only natural. I'm the right-hand man of our lord, after all." Brain raised his head proudly." Don't compare me to that muscle-head, Zero! "

" Huh?! Who is the muscle head?!" Said Zero, who had just arrived with Austin using 'Soru'.

" My lord!" Both Brain and Sebas bowed their head in unison, greeting Austin.

" You have done well, both of you," Austin praised them before looking at the Park's state.

 

Austin inspected the area and noticed more than a hundred fishmen's bodies on the ground, the three officers gravely injured, and lastly, Arlong, who was batted in his blood but still somehow alive.

"It appears you have sustained some injuries, Sebas! " Austin was surprised after noticing Sebas's wounds.

" Indeed, my lord. That Arlong was quite strong, " Sebas answered.

" Huh?! Really?! " Austin exclaimed and used 'Detect' on Arlong to see his stats.

 

_________________________

Name: Arlong

Race: Fishman

Level: 20

Strength: 230

Agility: 230

Stamina: 230

Charisma: 30

_________________________

 

Austin was surprised by Arlong's stats because that's not what an average Lvl 20 being should have. He has an additional 30 Stats Points in Strength, Agility, and Stamina.

" I see!" Austin nodded in understanding. He could comprehend now why Sebas had a hard time.

' If it wasn't for the 'Rokushiki' ( The Six powers ) techniques, Sebas would probably be dead here.' - Austin looked at dead fishmen, thinking. - ' It seems I underestimated their capabilities. Arlong's bounty also is too low for his actual strength. Usually, someone with this strength should be worth at least 50 million.'

 

Austin got curious and used 'Detect' on random Fishman to see their basic stats.

_________________________

Name: Pisaro

Race: Fishman

Level: 1

Strength: 20

Agility: 20

Stamina: 20

Charisma: 10

_________________________

' Huh?! So even a regular Fishman has an extra 10 Stats Points in all their stats.' - Austin shook his head, thinking. - ' No wonder they say a regular Fishman has ten times the strength of a regular human.'

' Well, I will take care of Sebas' injuries later after we finish with things here.' - Austin thought.

Apart from Sebas' state and the scattered fishmen corpses around, Austin noticed that Brain had brought a Navy officer with him.

" Who is that ?!" Austin asked, pointing at the officer on Brain's shoulder.

" His name is Rayan, my lord!" Brain looked at the unconscious Rayan and added, " He is a Lieutenant Commander!"

" I see!" Austin smiled evilly, saying. " I thought of something before, and you just brought me the perfect pawn to initiate my plan."

 

" By the way, where is the Navy ship ?!" Austin remembered something.

" It's close to here, my lord. But it's not visible from the Park," Brain explained.

" What about the soldiers ?!" Austin asked.

" They are all unconscious and tied up on the ship, my lord. " Brain replied.

" Good! Very good!" Austin smiled with satisfaction " I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Brain!"

"I'm always at your service, my lord!" Brain bowed happily after receiving such praise before turning to look at the envious Zero and scoffed, " Humph!"

 

" Now, let's finish with our business here!" Austin said before going towards the heavily injured officers, starting with Chew.

" Any last words?!" Austin looked down at Chew and said.

Chew was horrified when Austin appeared before him. The Fishman couldn't help but ask with a shaking voice, "What... did...we...do...to...you?"

" Funny, right ?! Didn't all the humans you lot hunted down and slaughtered have the same question at their last moments ?!" Austin scoffed at this Fishman hypocrisy and added, "Don't pretend to be the victim now because you are clearly not."

Austin finished Chew off by piercing his head with 'Wind bullets' before the latter could say anything in response.

 

He then moved to the next officer, Kuroobi!

" So you are Kuroobi!" Austin looked down at Kuroobi, whose legs were cut off. The latter didn't respond as he was already on his last breath. He just looked up at Austin with apparent hatred and rage in his eyes.

' When I was watching the anime, the second person I hated the most in this Arc was this Kuroobi guy.' - Austin thought. - 'I really hated his guts.'

" Have fun in hell, M.F!" Austin finished Kuroobi off the same way he did to Chew before moving toward the last officer.

 

Looking down at Hatchan lying unconscious on the ground, Austin felt conflicted and sighed at the end.

"I will leave it to fate, but you will have to leave some of your arms here as payment for all the horrible things you committed," Austin unleashed his sword 'Diablo', and cut off four of Hatchan's arms, leaving him only with two.

He then grabbed the octopus-Fishman and tossed him to the sea.

Austin watched Hatchan sink into the sea, thinking. - ' I haven't killed you because you have saved Rayleigh's life before, and the last thing I want now is that old man coming after me or some random variables popping out. So I will leave you with only those injuries, and whether you survive or not is up to your luck!'

 

After Hatchan sank into the sea, Austin looked at his subordinates, ordering. " Gather all the bodies and pay attention to the area around, don't let anyone near here!"

He then went toward the last Fishman in the area, the half-dead Arlong.

" So you are Arlong!" Austin looked down at the quiet Arlong.

" 'Cough cough' And...you are...the boss?!" Arlong asked while coughing heavily.

" Indeed!" Austin smiled, saying, " Now, you have two options: either hand over all your treasures or die here miserably ... It's up to you to decide."

" Huh?!... 'cough' what do you mean ?!" Arlong replied with a puzzled look.

" Huh," Austin sighed, saying. " Listen, I don't have anything against your race. Actually, I'm against what the humans have done so far to your race!" Austin narrowed his eyes," And I don't want to have some unnecessary conflict with Jinbei either. So I'm giving you a way out."

Arlong looked at him with complicated emotion on his face, feeling depressed twice, one for the fact he was spared by a human and two because he had to rely on that bastard's name.

" Your life in exchange for all the treasures you have accumulated so far." Austin smiled evilly and spread his arms, adding, " A fair deal, don't you think ?!"

"How would...I know that you...will keep your words?" Arlong thought for a moment before asking.

"Humph! I would rather die than break a promise I made concerning money. That's the kind of man I am." Austin smiled, adding, "Basically, you are buying your life with your treasures. So what's your answer ?"

"Alright..." Arlong sighed and agreed, at least on the surface, because he was already thinking of revenge in his mind.

He swore in his mind that after he managed to flee, he would gather his brothers and come to hunt this freak in the sea again. Arlong was confident in his victory because as long as he destroyed their ship in the middle of the sea and trapped them in the water, he could easily slaughter them. After all, in the water, they are the top fighters!

As for whether he would manage to leave or not, Arlong didn't even consider that possibility because, to him, as long as he gave all his wealth 'temporarily' to Austin, the latter would let him off. Well, they made a deal after all, and that cowardly human was also afraid of Jinbei, so he truly believed Austin's words.

 

Looking at the smiling Austin, Arlong scoffed in his mind, thinking, - ' Yeah, laugh as much as you want now because when I encounter you in the sea afterward, I will make you cry blood, you inferior lifeform!'

 

_________________________

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