Former Battlefield: Arlong Park

Thump thump thump!

"Open the door, open the door, Roman! Nami— "

Bang! The door to the second-floor room was suddenly pushed open, Nami, who was about to explode in anger, saw what it was like:

"Waaaaah, Nami ~~"

Luffy's snotty nose and tears startled Nami, and her anger vanished.

"Luffy, what are you doing?"

"Everyone else has disappeared!"

!?

"What do you mean everyone else is missing?"

Roman also came out of the room and closed the door behind him.

"Let's talk as we walk."

"Well... well, I ran into 'Roman' before, and then 'Roman' tried to ambush me, but I killed him instead. Then when I got back to the inn, I couldn't find anyone, except for Yaya who was unconscious in the kitchen..."

!!

Why did the Red Earl make his move so quickly?

Roman, with his eyes closed, sensed the surroundings and, sure enough, the Den Den Mushi Paper he'd given to the others were scattered across the island. Although Roman knew the Red Earl was strong, to be able to so quietly scatter the entire Straw Hat crew ... wait! The entire...

"Roman! Something's happened—!?"

As soon as the other Luffy rushed in, he saw Roman, Nami, and 'Luffy' coming downstairs.

Who are you? x2

"Why are you mimicking my speech?! x2"

"Watch out, Roman, he's a fake!" x2

Almost simultaneously, both Luffy cried out anxiously. But Roman didn't move; instead, he sighed.

When did you switch over?

"Nami."

?!

In an instant, both Luffy were stunned!

"This····"

As Roman spoke, Nami's expression changed, then turned to disappointment.

"Before you 'woke up,' when we were nearing the island—that 'Nami' was already me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just... it's just... I wanted to stay with Roman a little longer..."

"What?! Nami turned into two while she was on the ship?!" x2

No wonder Roman noticed Nami's unusual urgency today; it turns out...

"I don't blame you. If anyone is to blame, it's me for not noticing."

Although Roman knew that the Red Earl's 'transformation' ability was unique, he never expected that his personality, thinking, and habits would be exactly the same as the original owner's! He was practically Nami herself; even Roman didn't notice the slightest abnormality. This ability:

That's terrifying!

"But don't worry, Nami will be fine."

Nami, in turn, comforted Roman, "I... I just felt I deserved it too... I'm sorry—"

Thud~~

The guilty 'fake Nami's exploded into smoke and disappeared without a trace before Roman could make any move. Only a fallen leaf drifted down and landed in Roman's palm.

What's this...?

In a split second, Roman, his emotions in turmoil, flicked his hand, and the leaves vanished. Meanwhile, Luffy beside him suddenly darted towards the window.

Why are you running?

When faced with Roman's question, 'Luffy', who was perched on the window, chuckled.

"I have a feeling that if I don't run, Roman, you're going to beat me up right away—"

"I'm the one who's going to beat you up!!"

Even the slow-witted Luffy at the door had already realized something was wrong. Only Roman and the other person lying in the kitchen remained in the entire inn; all the other crew members had vanished! And that person over there who looked exactly like him definitely knew what the problem was. But:

"Hehehe, I don't want to fight with you guys."

With a leap backward, 'Luffy' vanished into the night in an instant.

"Don't even think about running away—"

"Etc!"

Roman stopped Luffy from giving chase, saying, "They're all alright, don't get agitated. Let me explain..."

"Luffy! Everyone's been captured—?"

The anxious Tanuki Pajon looked at Luffy and Roman in the hall and its first thought was:

"Watch out, he is... Oh, oh! This is the real deal..."

"Pato, do you know what happened to my friends?"

Faced with the serious Luffy, the little tanuki lowered its head in shame.

"It's the 'boss',"

"The 'boss' used my ability to transform into other people and then kidnapped everyone."

?!

"Roman," Roman nodded as Luffy turned to look at him.

"His boss should be none other than the Great Pirates 'The Red Earl' Patrick Redfield, who lived in the same era as Roger and Whitebeard. He was able to—"

Roman glanced at the little raccoon dog by the door.

"This 'Pato' ability creates replicas that are exactly the same as real people. —Even I've fallen for it!"

If it weren't for the fact that the others had Roman's 'Den Den Mushi Paper' as a marker, even Roman probably wouldn't have realized that Nami was a clone. No wonder she's a top-tier fighter, capable of taking on an entire Four Emperors crew single-handedly. If she were truly ambitious, she probably would have already turned the world upside down.

They could even 'replace' those countries and quietly control the entire world...

"That's how it is, but 'Boss' won't hurt Nami and the others... probably... Tanuki~~"

Seeing the dejected tanuki with its head hanging low, Luffy up to it and squatted down.

"Pato, this is not your fault."

"Your 'boss' kidnapped our friends. He is him, and you are you. — I will get our friends back. Are you willing to help us?"

!?

"You still want to believe... No, I do!"

The little raccoon nodded vigorously, while Roman closed his eyes and sensed it for a moment.

"Luffy, although their lives are not in danger, but—"

Everyone is in a state of 'battle', and the situation is not optimistic!

"Don't worry, Roman."

Luffy adjusted his Straw Hat Guotou to look out of the town.

"Trust our partners; they are not as vulnerable as they seem!"

"Here it is?"

Nami was awakened from her unconsciousness by the sound of waves and sat up, rubbing her temples as she tried to recall what had happened.

I remember I was studying the coordinates of the 'Poneglyph' in the cabin when Robin came in and offered to help me, and then:

"No, that's impossible!"

Is it an illusion-type ability? Or has my memory been altered...?

"Nami, what are you doing here?"

?

"Hachi, weren't you recuperating on Fish-Man Island? What are you doing in the New World?"

The familiar six-armed Fish-Man in front of her Nami breathe a sigh of relief.

"Nami, are you confused?"

The Fish-Man wearing a striped vest touched the 'Sun Pirates' tattoo on his forehead and asked in confusion.

"If you don't hurry back, Boss Arlong Long will get angry."

?!

Brush--

Nami suddenly rolled over and stood up, trembling all over, biting her lip.

"You mean... A... Long?!"

"Hey... besides our boss, who else in Donghai... dares to Arlong?"

Startled and backing away, Hachi looked at the girl before him and felt there was a significant difference between her and the girl in his 'memory'...

"I see,"

Nami took a deep breath and looked up. The familiar scenery around her, the tall buildings before her, and the shark pirate flag fluttering on the rooftop. So:

Puff!

"Hey, hey, hey!! Nami, what are you doing?"

"Nothing,"

Raising her left hand and looking at the blood flowing from her wrist, which she had scratched with her own fingernails, Nami immediately raised her hand to her mouth.

He licked it.

"Whether it's vision, pain, touch, smell, or taste... everything is the same as 'normal,' meaning—"

It's not a hallucination!

"Hahaha, isn't this our 'navigator'?! How did he get his wrist injured? Did he go stealing money from the pirates again and get chased? kiss"

The Gunpowder Fish-Man 'Chiu,' with a huge, protruding mouth, walked out of Arlong Park with a sarcastic expression.

"Ugh, this is really terrible, so—"

As Nami answered, she raised her palm and pointed it at her opponent.

Bang!

The next second, a tall figure flew backwards into Arlong Park, crashing into the swimming pool with a loud bang, splashing water several meters high! When the bewildered Fish-Man looked closely, they saw that it was one of their executives, 'Chiu,' floating in the pool with his eyes rolled back.

"Who is it?!"

The tall, jagged Fish-Man seated at the head of the table suddenly stood up.

"Who dares to harm my compatriots?!"

"It's me,"

A calm voice came from the entrance of 'Arlong Park', and at the same time a slender figure walked in, with long, wavy orange hair flowing behind her, revealing her restless heart.

"It's Nami,"

The tall Arlong first 'Satori', then revealed his true, ferocious nature:

"Who do you think you are?! How dare you harm us noble Fish-Man! Even if you used ten, a hundred, of your lowly human lives, it wouldn't be enough to make up for it!!"

·········

"It's been a long time, Arlong."

"Although I don't know why you've 'come back to life' again, nor why I'm in this place I hate, you won't be able to harm a single human being today. I will—"

"Hahaha, what will you do then?"

A maniacal laugher Arlong picked up a book from the chair he had been lying on, a book titled 'The Thief's Intent'!

"What can you do without this, woman!"

······

"Looks like you know quite a bit, Arlong."

"Boss Arlong Long, no need to waste words with him—"

Kuroobi, a Fish-Man Karate expert with two huge triangular bones on his elbows, charged towards Nami, his raised hand, dripping with water, slamming towards Nami.

"Fish-Man Karate - Thousand Brick Fist!"

Thump!

"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of Kuroobi executive, this slap brought down our 'navigator'—?!"

Before one of the Fish-Man could finish his reflections, he discovered that things were not as he had imagined.

"Tekkai - Steel!"

?!

The enormous Fish-Man's hand was firmly gripped by slender fingers. Nami looked up at the Fish-Man executive Kuroobi, whose face was filled with surprise, anger, and terror. Even when facing a stronger opponent, she realized that they could be just like ordinary people.

Click,

With a flick of her fingers, Nami twisted and deformed the opponent's hand in her 'delicate jade hand,' turning it into a puddle of mixed flesh! Before the opponent could even scream, Nami swung her other hand.

"Tekkai - Shatter!"

Puff,

A Fish-Man's head, with its hair in two buns, rolled to the side. Before the blood splattered from its neck could even touch Nami, she had already darted past the headless corpse.

"Shave!"

"Arlong, no matter how you 'surviveed', your only destination is hell!"

Nami pointed a finger at her former nightmare.

"Last time Roman helped me, so this time I'll do it myself."

Having journeyed all the way from the East Blue to the New World and even faced the Four Emperors, Nami could no longer be bound by the inexplicable shackles of 'not getting her hands dirty'. In this world, how can you expect to reach the top without killing anyone? There's no such thing as a free lunch!

A fairy tale?

"Hahaha, it seems you've grown a lot, Nami."

Facing Nami, who had instantly defeated Kuroobi, Arlong reached out and grabbed at the swimming pool in the center of 'Arlong Park'.

"Thanks to that 'master,' I've also gained considerable power—"

The churning water column was caught in Arlong's hand, and in an Electric Light, he hurled it forcefully towards Nami:

"Bullet Wave!"

Call out--

The water jet shot out like a high-pressure water gun! Although Nami dodged it with 'Shave' in an instant, the smooth, round hole in the wall behind her...

"This is Jinbe's skill, why do you know it too?"

Nami turned to look at Arlong. If Arlong had had that strength back then, the Straw Hat crew probably wouldn't have been able to even leave the East Blue.

"Hahaha, you're facing me at my 'peak' now."

"Whether it's 'Fish-Man Karate' or this—"

He picked up the 'Zanpo' next to him and swung it in mid-air, unleashing Flying Slash that hurtled towards Nami!

"Geppo!"

As Nami dodged through the air, she glanced at the wall behind her that had been split in two, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down her face.

That doesn't make sense...

"Distracted during battle—"

Although he couldn't use Geppo, Arlong, relying on the powerful physique of the Fish-Man Race, leaped up and raised his 'Zanpo', slashing fiercely at Nami! The ferocious aura emanating from it made the orange-haired girl's expression change.

Sword energy?

"Roman, this isn't a hallucination, is it?"

"... Strictly speaking, it's not a hallucination."

Before them stood a military base engulfed in flames, with a massive 'Punk Hazard' sign clearly visible. Although this scene was created using the power of the Tanuki Pajon, as long as the power wasn't dispelled, it looked exactly like the 'real' Punk Hazard.

Flames will burn, poison gas will be deadly.

It's practically like the 'Inner World' in the Type-Moon universe.

On the other side, however, lay a lush, vibrant orange grove, a stark contrast to the desolate, lifeless landscape of 'Punk Hazard.' And this Orange Grove was exactly what Roman had anticipated...

"Roman, you go that way, I'll go this way!"

Luffy finished speaking, he charged straight towards the flames-filled 'Punk Hazard', leaving Roman only enough time to shout.

"Be safe····"

Alright, I'll go check out the situation here first, barring any unforeseen circumstances:

This is where Nami is.

"Hahaha, all you've learned in the past few years is to run around aimlessly?"

Facing Arlong's 'peak' version, Nami, who had lost "Thief's Intent", was at a disadvantage for a while and could only rely on Geppo and Shave to move around.

"Useless fellow, I will go back and rule the East China Sea, rule your village! Of course, this time I won't be so 'merciful.' I'll hang your sister and that troublesome policeman on the mast to dry in the wind first, to make an example of them..."

"Shut up, Arlong!!"

You must not hurt anyone—

Sister, Mr. Ken, Dr. Joseph, Joseph, Johnny... I will protect Cocoyasi Village!

Facing Nami, who abandoned her escape route and charged forward, the tall Fish-Man revealed a cunning smile, and slashed down with his huge 'Zanpo', which was wreathed in Haki!

Clang!!!

?!

"How is that possible..."

The massive Zanpo abruptly stopped, the lingering seawater on its edge was violently shattered, and cracks began to appear on the enormous metal serrations. Then:

Click,

Ding ding dong dong~~

It was reduced to a pile of steel fragments! And all that was accomplished was by a tiny fist.

A fist with a metallic sheen!

"As expected, Roman said that only by throwing a punch with all his might can Awakening Armament Haki."

In terms of both training and physical fitness, Nami has long since reached the required standard over the past two years. The only thing she lacks is the willpower to 'punch with all her might'. Facing her former nightmare, she skipped the beginner level of 'Entangle' and directly reached the higher level of 'Coverage'!

"Realize yourself, Arlong."

Facing the girl whose fists were covered in the King's Armament Haki, the tall, jagged Fish-Man was covered in cold sweat.

"Wait, actually we can talk—"

Thump thump thump!

"Ahhhh~~~"

Boom!

With a flurry of eight punches from Xia Ji, enhanced by Armament Haki, she transformed the mundane into the miraculous, easily shattering rocks and iron! She forcefully sent Arlong flying like a sandbag, and with a deafening roar, she blasted the towering 'Arlong Park' into a crash.

"Phew, thank goodness the book is okay, otherwise Roman would have killed me."

Picking up "The Thief's Intent" from the side, just as Nami was about to turn and leave, a slight noise came from the ruins of "Arlong Park".

"I... heard about your experiences... from 'others'..."

?

"You... have been to the Sabaody Archipelago... and know that the Fish-Man Race are not... a noble race at all..."

Arlong's fragmented words drifted from the ruins.

"He even... fought against a Celestial Dragons... Marine Admiral... for the sake of a mermaid girl... I'm not 'Arlong,' but... if... if..."

If only the humans the captain encountered had been you...

Thud!

After a soft thud, only a single leaf remained beneath the ruins.

"Nami!"

A familiar voice rushed over at high speed, Nami to turn around abruptly and open the book in her hand.

"Stop!"