Fish-Man

Xia Qiu drove off Sea Cow Moo Moo and let out a breath. Every move he had made had been perilous; one slight mistake, and he would have been the one to die.

If Moo Moo had not been afraid and fled, Xia Qiu probably would not have been able to hold on.

Xia Qiu sighed, then turned and headed into the distance to hunt sea fish and heal the wound on his head.

Xia Qiu entered the ocean and began feeding. The blood on his body attracted sea fish, causing him quite a bit of trouble.

He ate the sea fish, and the bleeding from his wound stopped. Then he continued feeding as the wound gradually healed.

By the second day, Xia Qiu's injuries had fully healed. He returned to Cocoyasi Village, only to discover something.

The Arlong Pirates had not left. Not only that, they had sailed their ship into the place where he lived: Southern Harbor.

What was going on?

On the third day, then the fourth, they still had not left.

Not only that, many more people and Fish-Men had appeared by the shore. They felled trees, transported supplies, and built something.

Were they planning to make this place their base?

Xia Qiu suddenly realized that the island he lived on was the very island where Cocoyasi Village was located.

It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

After all, starting in October of this year, the Arlong Pirates would use this place as their base for the next eight years.

And judging by the timeline, Nami's mother, Bellemere, had already been killed by Arlong. Nami herself had been brought into the Arlong Pirates after Arlong discovered her talent for drawing nautical charts.

After that, she would join Arlong's Crew and become a member of the Arlong Pirates, enduring humiliation in an attempt to save the village, only to be met with despair.

It would not be until Luffy and the others saved her and defeated Arlong that she escaped her painful fate.

Xia Qiu suddenly felt boundless fury and wanted nothing more than to kill every Fish-Man in the Arlong Pirates.

Of course, it was not because of Nami.

It was because—

The place you occupied was my territory.

How did that saying go? Those who trespass on my territory...

I'll kill every last one of you!

Boundless killing intent surged through Xia Qiu's heart.

Xia Qiu had already decided to hunt the members of the Arlong Pirates. It was not only because they had occupied his habitat, but also because of the energy contained in their bodies and the raging anger in his heart.

Of course, he was no match for them. Charging in headfirst would only lead to death.

He had to carefully consider how to deal with them. He could not act on instinct alone.

After all, he was not merely a fish. He was a fish with a human soul. Fish and human... could he count as a Fish-Man too?

Nothing wrong with that.

To deal with the Arlong Pirates, he was not their match.

At the very least, he was still somewhat unable to handle Arlong and the four officers.

If he had to face too many Fish-Men at once, trouble could arise as well.

So the first thing he needed to do was increase his strength.

Raw strength was king. With absolute power, there was no need to fear them at all.

Second, he had to defeat the Arlong Pirates one by one.

He had no need to face the entire Arlong Pirates. If he could split them apart and attack lone Fish-Men, as well as groups led by a single officer, then he would stand a chance.

By eating Fish-Men, he would grow stronger—using battle to sustain battle.

Third, he needed to create some enemies for the Arlong Pirates.

For example, other pirate crews. Or the Marines.

Especially the latter. He knew that Captain Nezumi of Branch 16 was in collusion with the Arlong Pirates.

If he killed Captain Nezumi when Nezumi came to see Arlong and was on his way back, then slaughtered every Marine aboard the warship...

Who would the Marines identify as the culprit?

At the very least, according to the Branch records and in the eyes of the other Marines, Captain Nezumi would have died while on his way to find Arlong.

Once Captain Nezumi died, word would be sent upward—to the East China Sea branch and Marine Headquarters.

If they learned that the Marines had vanished after making contact with Arlong, they would certainly consider Arlong their primary suspect.

That would leave two possible outcomes: the Marines would attack Arlong, or they would continue investigating.

If it was the second, someone would definitely come to take over the Branch 16 base. That would again lead to two possibilities: continuing to pursue Arlong, or joining forces with him.

If they chose to join forces with him, Xia Qiu intended to do it again.

As the Marines continued suffering losses, Arlong would draw more and more attention from them. His bounty would rise ever higher, eventually attracting stronger Marine officers.

Even if just a Marine Headquarters captain came, someone like Smoker, the Arlong Pirates would have no choice but to flee in panic.

Of course, Xia Qiu treated this as insurance—a way to divide the Arlong Pirates' attention. Before powerful Marines arrived, Xia Qiu would do his best to kill Arlong himself.

"From today onward, you are a member of the Arlong Pirates. You will serve as our navigator."

Arlong looked at Nami standing before him and said with a smile, "You will live here from now on. My park is nearly complete. Once it is, I will prepare a room for you. Whatever you want, I can get it for you."

Nami withdrew her gaze from the Fish-Men and humans busy at work in the distance. She glanced at the tattoo on her left arm, her eyes filled with disgust, yet she had no choice.

Looking at Arlong, she asked in a trembling voice, "You said that as long as I brought you one hundred million Belly, I could buy back the village. Is that true?"

Arlong nodded and said, "That's right. As long as you bring me one hundred million Belly, I will return the village to you."

"I... I'll do it." Nami took a deep breath, and her expression turned resolute.

As long as she could save the village, Nami was willing to steal or deceive anyone.

"That would be wonderful."

Upon hearing that, Arlong grinned.

How could I possibly let you go? A navigator with such extraordinary talent—you will become part of my empire.

Arlong withdrew his gaze from Nami and looked toward Hachi. "Where did Moo Moo go? Why hasn't he shown up these past few days?"

Hachi scratched his head. "I don't know either. I blew the horn, but I couldn't summon him."

"Looks like he wandered off somewhere along the way." Arlong snorted. "But there's no need to worry about him. He came here from the Grand Line. In these waters, there are only a handful capable of hurting him."

Crunch, crunch.

Xia Qiu bit down on a sea fish. His jaws closed, crushing it before he swallowed it into his stomach.

When he felt full, he turned and swam toward the island.

It had now been a month since the Arlong Pirates arrived.

At this point, Southern Harbor had been jointly constructed by Fish-Men and humans. A five-story tower now stood there, topped with a massive shark's mouth and surrounded by walls.

The recessed shore where Xia Qiu lived had been dug farther inward, transformed into a huge pool.

Two platforms had been built outside the walls, while the pirate ship was moored to the right outside the walls.

This was Arlong Park, the base of the Arlong Pirates.

For the time to come, they would gather here and expand outward into the surrounding waters, eventually ruling over twenty villages.

Xia Qiu slowly approached Arlong Park, quietly lying in wait more than a hundred meters from the pirate ship and over forty meters beneath the surface.

At that distance, they had no way of detecting him, yet it was at the limit of Xia Qiu's vibration sensing.

And Sea Cow Moo Moo, the Arlong Pirates' combatant, had not returned since Xia Qiu drove him away.

Still, Xia Qiu remained wary of it. He hid along the island's western side, lying on the seabed while sensing vibrations. If Fish-Men or Moo Moo approached, he could hide or leave from the other side.

But just then, Xia Qiu felt vibrations approaching.

The pirate ship raised its sails and slowly set off, heading into the distance.

"The pirate ship is leaving?"

Xia Qiu's eyes lit up. He opened his mouth and released sound waves. Using echolocation, he discovered that the pirate ship was slowly sailing out of the harbor.

"What are they going to do? Attack another village? Collect protection money?"

Xia Qiu's eyes brightened. If they left, wouldn't those remaining be mere fodder?

But he could not rule out the possibility that Arlong and the officers were staying behind. As long as even one of them remained, they could cause him trouble.

Xia Qiu did not rush in. Instead, he slowly drew closer, arriving some distance from Arlong Park.

The outer wall had no gate, while the inner wall had a thick round door that was already shut.

The round door was only meant to keep outsiders out. There was a waterway beneath it that allowed entry.

Xia Qiu did not approach. Instead, he looked into the distance, and joy immediately rose in his heart.

On the wooden pier where the pirate ship had originally been moored stood two Fish-Men.

They were both around 1.8 meters tall. One had short black hair, was extremely fat, and possessed full lips. The other had a mohawk and a thin build.

Neither looked particularly capable in a fight. Since the pirate ship had just departed, they had most likely stayed behind after helping untie its mooring ropes.

They were not officers, merely ordinary Fish-Men.

And the place where they stood was a wooden pier used to disembark from the ship.

He could smash the pier apart, send them falling into the water, and then eat them.

With that in mind, Xia Qiu slowly dived down, hugged the seabed, and charged toward the pier.

"Boss Arlong went to attack another village and left us here to guard the place. What rotten luck," the thin Fish-Man said, shaking his head.

"I really wish I could follow Lord Arlong and hunt humans," the fat Fish-Man said wistfully.

"The pirate ship is far enough away. Let's head back too."

The thin Fish-Man waved his hand, preparing to leave.

But just then, the fat Fish-Man frowned and stared into the water. "What's that?" he asked blankly.

"Hm?"

The thin Fish-Man turned around, walked to the edge, and looked down. Beneath the seawater, a dark shadow was rapidly approaching.

"What is that?"

The thin Fish-Man's face filled with shock. "What a huge sea fish."

"Run!"

The fat Fish-Man shouted and turned to flee.

But the next instant, Xia Qiu slammed into the pier.

Boom.

The wooden planks of the pier shattered at once. The long pier collapsed into the sea with a crash.

The ground vanished beneath the two Fish-Men's feet, and they fell into the ocean.

The moment they entered the water, Xia Qiu opened his blood-filled maw and bit down.

Crunch.

Xia Qiu bit straight into the thin Fish-Man. His jaws closed, and his sharp teeth pierced directly through the Fish-Man's body.

"Ah..."

The thin Fish-Man cried out in pain, but he was immediately crushed and swallowed into Xia Qiu's stomach.

"Damn it."

The fat Fish-Man had fallen into the water behind the thin Fish-Man. Taking advantage of the other being eaten, he immediately turned around, kicked off with both legs, and swam toward the distant shore.

Trying to run?

Seeing this, Xia Qiu gave chase at full speed and instantly closed the distance.

"It's coming."

The fat Fish-Man's expression changed drastically. The instant Xia Qiu lunged to bite him, he suddenly kicked off with both legs and swam to the left.

Splash.

Xia Qiu's body swept past him.

"I survived?"

Joy surged through the fat Fish-Man's heart. At that distance from shore, the huge fish would crash into the cliffside.

But the next moment, Xia Qiu's massive body struck him, crushing him against the rock wall.

Boom.

Chunks of rock broke from the cliff, while the fat Fish-Man's bones were smashed layer by layer, turning him into a lump of flesh.

Xia Qiu's body was now parallel to the shore.

He had not intended to bite the Fish-Man to death. If he had continued accelerating and bitten him, the enormous impact would have sent Xia Qiu's head crashing into the rock wall.

His head was very hard and had a huge ram. Smashing through a wall would not have been a problem, but hitting a cliffside would definitely injure him.

So when he was about to catch up to the Fish-Man, Xia Qiu directly changed direction and swam right, swinging his body sideways in a drift.

The fat Fish-Man swam left, neatly avoiding Xia Qiu's head.

But immediately afterward, he was slammed into the rock wall by Xia Qiu's massive turning body, countless bones breaking.

Plop.

The fat Fish-Man's corpse slowly slid down and landed on the seabed.

Xia Qiu turned around, bit into the fat Fish-Man, swallowed him into his stomach, and then quietly swam away.

Xia Qiu was very curious about what kind of energy Fish-Men could provide.