Pirate: Invincible from the Start

If anyone dared resist, the entire village would be destroyed.

That was why no one had truly dared to fight back.

At first, they had held out hope that the Marines would come and defeat the pirates.

But the Arlong Pirates had crushed the five warships sent against them with ease, and that hope had died.

No matter how many Marines came afterward, they proved as fragile as eggs in the hands of those monsters.

The villagers had learned that no human could match the monsters' strength.

Worse still, a Marine officer who looked like a rat had arrived. Instead of going after the Arlong Pirates, he had used his authority to suppress news of what was happening here.

Whenever someone sought help from the Marines, Nezumi passed the information straight to Arlong.

The villager who had asked for help would die horribly, and their entire village would suffer for it.

Just like that, their last shred of hope was gone.

For six years, the island's residents had silently endured this misery.

And today was the monthly collection day.

A large group of Fish-Men marched into Cocoyasi Village, Nami's village, led by two officers.

At the front walked a cartilaginous Fish-Man.

He wore a dark blue sleeveless karate uniform, his hair tied into two short braids. Fins like great blades jutted from his arms, and his powerful muscles gave him an intimidating presence.

His appearance marked him as Kuroobi, an officer of the Arlong Pirates and a former member of the Sun Pirates.

A step behind Kuroobi walked a Fish-Man in a blue sleeveless shirt and black shorts. He had short blond hair and protruding lips that made him look like a kissing gourami.

He had to be Chew, another officer of the Arlong Pirates and former Sun Pirates member.

The two officers led the Fish-Men to the middle of the village's only street.

No one had to tell the villagers what to do. They came out of their homes with money in hand, lined up, and approached the Fish-Men.

One by one, they dropped the money they had worked all month to earn into an empty sack held by a Fish-Man.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? Don't have enough money?"

The Fish-Man collecting the money glared at a villager who had been a little slow to hand his over.

He snatched the money from the villager's hand, weighed it in his palm, and tossed it into the sack.

Then he grabbed the villager by the arm and hurled him to the ground.

The villager did not dare make a sound. He silently got up and limped toward a nearby house.

The others watched with blank faces. They were used to it.

They were used to the Fish-Men's strength and their arrogance. Most of all, they were used to being bullied by them.

Before long, the collector's sack was full.

Kuroobi swept a cold glance over the villagers standing on either side of the street. Without a word, he led Chew, who had his hands in his pockets, and the other Fish-Men toward Orange Grove.

One person remained there. Even if she was Nami's sister, she still had to pay.

Once they collected the head tax from her, their work for the day would be done.

Cocoyasi Village was the closest village to Arlong Park, so they usually collected from it last.

Kuroobi and Chew suddenly stopped, throwing the Fish-Men behind them into confusion.

"What is it?"

They all looked ahead. Beyond the village entrance, a young man and woman were walking toward them.

They were Kuta and Kuina, who had just come from the shore.

After leaving their boat at the simple dock outside the village, they had headed straight here and run into the Fish-Men on their way out.

Kuroobi stared at the two human brats approaching him.

He turned to a Fish-Man behind him. "Did we miss two? I've never seen these two before."

That Fish-Man was responsible for the count. He hefted the sack of money and answered with certainty.

"We've collected everything except the head tax from Nami's sister in Orange Grove."

Kuroobi turned back and fixed Kuta and Kuina with a cold stare.

"If the count's right, these two humans came from outside. Kill them."

He meant it. They would not let word of this place get out so easily.

Kuta saw the Fish-Men stop.

He stopped too, leaving them to Kuina.

Taking the wine gourd from his waist, he stood there drinking, his gaze fixed on the Fish-Men with lazy amusement as he waited to see what Kuina would do.

Kuina glanced coldly across the Fish-Men, then settled her gaze on Kuroobi and Chew.

Those two were plainly the only ones she cared about. Their distinctive appearances made them easy to recognize.

Kuina did not stop. She quickened her pace toward them.

The villagers standing beneath the eaves on either side of the street saw her speed up instead of stopping at the sight of the Fish-Men.

Their hearts tightened with worry.

Just then, a middle-aged man in uniform hurried out of a nearby house and reached out to stop Kuina. Four crossing scars marked his face, and a pinwheel was stuck in his hat.

A flicker of amusement crossed Kuta's eyes. He recognized the man at once: Genzo, the village constable.

Genzo was a gentle man. To Nami and Nojiko, he was like a father.

When he saw the young woman walking straight toward the Fish-Men instead of running, he could not help rushing out to stop her.

The two outsiders had probably never been here before. They did not know how vicious the Fish-Men were, which was why they seemed so unconcerned.

I have to get these two out of the village before the Fish-Men come over.

Thoughts raced through Genzo's mind.

He fixed Kuina with a deliberately cold look and spoke harshly. "Young lady, outsiders aren't welcome here. Please leave."

Kuina looked at Genzo, and a trace of warmth entered her cool eyes.

His tone was unpleasant, but he could not hide the urgency and concern in his eyes.

When Kuina looked toward him, Kuta shrugged and came over, signaling her to continue.

He put an arm around Genzo's shoulders, drew him aside, and smiled. "Thanks, sir. We appreciate what you're trying to do, but we know what we're doing."

Genzo froze.

In that brief moment, Kuina had already walked more than ten meters away.

Seeing her almost reach the Fish-Men, Genzo shouted, "Don't go any closer, young lady!"

Kuina turned back and smiled at him.

"It's all right, sir. We came here specifically to deal with Arlong."

"Deal with Arlong?" Shock spread across Genzo's face.

"That's right. Watch." Kuta pointed ahead.

Chew had made his move the moment Kuina turned toward Genzo.

He did not care whether it was a sneak attack. All that mattered was taking out the enemy.

He puffed up his tube-like mouth and fired a shot of water at Kuina.

It sped toward the back of her head like a bullet from a gun.

Chew watched her eagerly, certain he could kill her with one shot.

But things did not go as he imagined.

As though she had seen it coming, Kuina tilted her head slightly and dodged the shot with ease.

The water shot past her ear and flew toward Kuta.

Genzo's pupils widened at the sight of it hurtling toward them, and cold sweat broke out across his body.

He instinctively tried to pull Kuta out of the way. Then he realized the space around him had somehow frozen. He could not move at all.

The water had stopped in front of them too, unable to advance another inch.

Perhaps only an instant passed before Genzo felt everything around him move again.

The water fell to the ground with a splat.

Genzo stared at it in horror.

What kind of power was that?

With power like that, maybe they really could beat Arlong!

Hope flashed in Genzo's eyes, then quickly faded.

No. Impossible. How could humans ever stand against those monsters?

He had known too much despair to believe a human could defeat Arlong.

He shook his head and looked up at Kuta.

Sensing his gaze, Kuta took a drink from his gourd before turning to him with a smile. "I told you, we came to deal with Arlong."

He paused, his tone turning more serious.

"And we're strong."

Then he looked toward Kuina, signaling Genzo to keep watching.

Perhaps only seeing it happen would convince these despairing villagers that they really could wipe out the Arlong Pirates.

A Fish-Man Falls to a Single Stroke Kuroobi had known Kuta and Kuina were no ordinary humans the moment they appeared.

Their eyes had been too calm—cold, even. They looked at the Fish-Men as though they were fish waiting to be slaughtered.

He hated that look. He had seen it too often in his homeland.

So the instant Kuina dodged Chew's shot, before she could turn back, he charged.

With his extensive combat experience, he was not about to let that opening pass.

He would finish the human girl in an instant, then face the young man behind her.

Something about that silver-haired young man felt dangerous. His animal instincts told him so.

"Fish-Man Karate: Wrist Chop!"

Kuroobi was taller than most humans. Standing before Kuina, he looked like a giant, his powerful frame casting her entirely in shadow.

He raised his arm, exposing the hard, curved fin at his elbow, and slashed down diagonally toward Kuina's neck.

A red glint flashed in Kuina's eyes. She turned and ducked beneath the savage blow.

She stepped forward under Kuroobi's arm.

Shing!

Behind Kuroobi, Kuina drew her sword in a flash. She spun the blade in her right hand, took a reverse grip, thrust it diagonally upward behind her, then pulled it free. Without another glance at him, she headed toward the other Fish-Men.

Kuina had taken three or four steps when Kuroobi finally moved. He had stood frozen in the follow-through of his slash, but now his legs buckled and his body pitched to the ground.

Thud!

He hit the ground with a dull impact, stirring up a faint cloud of dust.

Kuroobi lay facedown, his eyes wide with rage and disbelief.

He was a Fish-Man! How could he fall so easily at a human's feet?