Inviting Nami

Boundless darkness engulfed all the fish-men in an instant.

"Devil Fruit!!!"

Arlong was utterly shocked.

The human before him was shrouded in black mist, and that mist instantly covered every fish-man present.

There was no doubt that this power belonged to the legendary Devil Fruit.

"As expected of a fish-man from the Grand Line!"

Mark threw a punch, and a gigantic fist of darkness nearly ten to thirteen feet across came crashing down upon Arlong.

Its might was terrifying! Arlong felt an extreme danger radiating from the massive black fist before him.

"Kiribachi!"

Arlong rapidly retreated, wildly swinging his serrated sword, Kiribachi. However, it had little effect against the spell-like attack of the fist of darkness and instead drove him into a dead end.

Boom!

Just as Arlong was forced into the corner, the fist of darkness exploded.

An explosion with the force of twenty-four pounds of gunpowder erupted in front of Arlong, instantly blasting him into a bloody mess.

His saw-like nose was blown off, his chest was mangled, and most importantly, both his hands were pulverized by the fist of darkness.

"Damn it!"

His mangled hands could no longer bring out his full strength. Looking around, the other fish-men had either been killed by Choo or shot dead by Daisy. Any resistance was futile.

The remaining few had also fallen deep into the Black Hole, with half their bodies already swallowed up.

"Ah!!!" Arlong roared and opened his mouth to bite Mark.

As one of the outstanding members of his race, he refused to believe his sister's prophecy or believe in fate.

He had led Mermaid Street and several former Sun Pirates members to the East Blue solely to carve out a place where fish-men could live.

He wanted to use strength to prove to his people that fish-men were born rulers, not the freaks, mutations, and inferior creatures humans called them.

"Shahaha! Fish-men are the highest life-forms! Worthless humans... die!"

Arlong opened his huge jaws, his sharp teeth snapping toward Mark's throat.

"What a mad and pathetic dream!"

Mark sidestepped Arlong's attack, then formed his fingers into a blade. Armament Haki and his Devil Fruit power wrapped around them as he slashed downward with all his might.

Crack! The sound of a neck breaking rang out.

Arlong's lunging body froze in midair before crashing heavily to the ground. His eyes rolled back, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Your dream is far too extreme. At least in this era, you... including your people, will never achieve it."

Mark's indifferent voice rang out. Arlong's body trembled slightly as he opened his mouth, wanting to refute him, but after exhausting all his strength, he could only force out three words:

"I... don't... believe..."

Then he stopped breathing.

Unless someone possessed a recovery-type ability or an Animal-type Devil Fruit, not even a fish-man could survive with a broken neck.

"There would always be a gap between dreams and reality."

Mark activated Black Hole with all his strength, instantly devouring every fish-man present.

After killing those fish-men, Mark's physique had strengthened by more than a full fold. Arlong and the others had provided a great deal of life energy.

Physique: ★★

One had to know that upgrading the second star required two or three times as much life energy as the first.

Only one octopus fish-man remained in the park, fighting Choo.

"Choo, stop! The battle is over!"

Upon hearing Mark's words, Choo immediately flew back to his side. After landing, he pecked at the feathers Hatchan had damaged.

"Human, I'll kill you and avenge Arlong!!!"

Hatchan's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Arlong's corpse on the ground. Raising his eight long swords, he slashed at Mark.

Bang!

Mark flashed to Hatchan's side and sent him flying with a kick.

"Hatchan, I'll leave Arlong's body to you. I'm sparing you now because you once saved Rayleigh. But if you keep seeking death, I won't mind killing one more fish-man."

Mark had spared Hatchan entirely out of consideration for his connection to Scopper Gaban and Rayleigh.

Of course, Hatchan's attitude toward humans was not as vile as Arlong's, which was also why Mark chose to let him go.

After being kicked away by Mark, Hatchan spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to get up.

Blinded by rage, he had not carefully listened to Mark's words. He raised his swords and was about to charge at Mark again.

But someone suddenly appeared in front of Hatchan and blocked his blades.

"That's enough, Hatchan. Stop fighting. If you go after him again, that man will really kill you!"

When he saw who it was, the red glow in Hatchan's eyes finally faded.

"Nami..."

Nami looked at Hatchan, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She hated fish-men, but kind-hearted Hatchan was her only friend among them.

So she truly did not want anything to happen to him.

"Arlong..." Hatchan looked at Arlong's corpse on the ground. Tears glimmered faintly in his eyes as he rubbed them.

Hatchan thanked Nami, then bowed to Mark. "Thank you for giving me Big Brother Arlong's body. I know what I need to do!"

He threw down his swords. With a dejected expression, Hatchan walked over to Arlong, gently lifted him, and carried him on his back.

After glancing back at Nami, Mark, and the others, he jumped into the sea.

Hatchan was gone!

Looking at Mark and the others, Nami cautiously asked, "Who are you people?"

"I'm a pirate," Mark said.

Nami instantly went on high alert. Had one Arlong left, only for an even more vicious pirate to arrive?

"You don't need to be nervous. I have no interest in Cocoyasi Village or Orange Town as a whole. I came here to get rid of Arlong because I used to be from Cocoyasi Village too," Mark said.

Nami's expression softened. "You used to be from Cocoyasi Village too?"

"Yeah! My father was Rod Bavat, and my mother was Helvi Rose."

When Mark said he was from Cocoyasi Village, Nami's attitude toward him softened considerably.

She was still somewhat resistant to the fact that he was a pirate, but upon hearing his parents' names, a trace of delight appeared on her face.

"Uncle Bavat and Auntie Rose? Then you're... Mark?"

Mark was somewhat surprised. "You know me?"

He had only been around one year old back then, and Nami was about the same age as him. Could she really remember things at that age?

"Of course! Bellemere and Auntie Rose were very close. I still remember how Auntie Rose loved making shredded potato pancakes. They were especially delicious. Nojiko and I both loved them..."

"But later, I heard that your whole family was killed by pirates..." Nami's gaze darkened as she spoke.

Mark sneered. "Pirates? That was what those Marines said, wasn't it?"

"Wasn't that what happened?"

"Of course not!"

Mark told Nami everything that had happened. She became furious upon hearing it.

"Those Marines are just like Arlong. They're no good either."

Mark agreed. After a moment, he suddenly said, "Nami, join my pirate crew!"

"What?" Nami did not react at first.

"Join my pirate crew. Become the navigator of my crew, and sail the seas with us."

Nami stared blankly at Mark for a long time, then shook her head and refused.