Like the Grim Reaper

They prayed for the young woman to slay the dragon, and prayed that she would not be hurt.

Even if she failed to slay the dragon in the end,

they refused to live under the Arlong Pirates' oppression any longer.

The Fish-Men lying dead across the ground had shown them that Fish-Men were not invincible.

The anger in their hearts had broken free of its shackles.

On the road to Arlong Park, Kuina kept her head down, looking troubled.

Kuta glanced at her with concern. "What's wrong, Kuina?"

"Nothing. There are just some things I can't make sense of."

"Like what? Tell me."

"When we first entered the village, I could feel the villagers' fear and numbness."

"That kind of numbness doesn't happen overnight. They must have been oppressed for a long time."

Kuina raised her head and looked at Kuta in confusion.

"But I don't understand."

"The East Blue is vast, but in some ways it's small. How could a pirate crew keep humans penned up like livestock on human land for six whole years?"

Her brow furrowed, and her voice rose with emotion.

"Where were the Marines? Where were the Marines who stand for justice?"

Kuta reached over and ruffled her hair. He looked toward Arlong Park in the distance, a cold glint passing through his eyes.

"Don't assume the Marine higher-ups are so righteous. Most of their justice serves the nobles. They don't care nearly as much about ordinary people."

"The ones who care most about ordinary people are often the lowest-ranking Marines—the rank and file."

"But they have neither the authority nor the strength to deal with powerful pirates like these."

"So that's how it is!"

Kuina nodded as understanding dawned.

"What about Garp the Hero? We grew up hearing stories about him. How could pirates this vile appear in his homeland without him coming to stop them?"

Kuina's anger flared again.

Few people in the East Blue didn't admire Garp. He was one of their own, and he was called a hero.

He truly was a source of pride to most ordinary people and Marines.

But even a hero couldn't be everywhere at once.

A hero still had to follow the rules—the rules of the Celestial Dragons and the World Government.

So despite being a hero, Garp wasn't all that free.

The New World needed him. Marine Headquarters needed him. Whenever a powerful pirate appeared, they needed him too.

He was so busy that he had left his grandsons with mountain bandits, and both boys had ended up becoming pirates.

Of course, knowing Ace and Luffy, they might have become pirates even if Garp had raised them himself.

Being a hero wasn't easy.

If Garp hadn't refused promotion to Admiral, he probably wouldn't even have had time for his annual vacation to visit his grandsons.

Kuta didn't explain all that to Kuina. He simply said,

"Maybe he doesn't know. He can't return to the East Blue very often, can he?"

"And besides..."

"What?"

"I heard the Arlong Pirates are working with Captain Nezumi of the nearby Marine 16th Branch."

"That keeps the Marines in other East Blue bases—the ones who genuinely care about justice—from learning what's happening here and coming to take down the Arlong Pirates."

A cold light flashed in Kuina's eyes. She gritted her teeth and said fiercely,

"That Captain Nezumi deserves to die."

An enemy in the open wasn't always the most frightening. Worse were your own people who helped the enemy—traitors.

People like that were often crueler and more hateful than the enemy itself.

They were spineless bullies, fawning over those above them and throwing their weight around with those below.

"Yeah."

"Don't worry. Not one of them will get away."

A red gleam flashed in Kuta's eyes. He had already sensed two groups inside Arlong Park.

Judging by their presence, they didn't seem to be enemies.

That meant they could only be allies.

So Nezumi should be inside Arlong Park right now.

Like a Death God

A filthy deal was underway in Arlong Park.

Today was not only the day the Arlong Pirates collected their head tax, but also the day they paid Captain Nezumi his bribe.

High stone walls enclosed all of Arlong Park. A single enormous stone gate opened toward the sea.

Beyond it ran a long waterway, designed by Arlong specifically for the Fish-Men.

Two pools of equal width flanked the waterway. The Arlong Pirates usually played around in them.

At the end of the waterway stood a tall, five-story tower-shaped building. The Arlong Pirates' flag fluttered atop a spire shaped like a shark with its jaws wide open.

On the passage between the tower and the waterway lounged a tall Fish-Man with a long, sharp, saw-toothed nose.

He was Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates.

Across from Arlong sat a man who looked like a rat and wore a Marine officer's coat. Two ordinary Marines stood behind him.

That had to be Captain Nezumi.

"Here's this month's share. Take it."

Arlong took a thick stack of bills from one of his men, set it on the table, and pushed it toward Captain Nezumi.

"Kekekeke!"

"Brother Arlong, you think nothing like the average pirate!"

Captain Nezumi grinned at the money before him.

He quickly snatched it up and tucked it into his coat. Nodding in satisfaction, he smiled at Arlong. "You certainly know how to keep a good arrangement going!"

"Shahahaha! Same goes for you!"

Arlong spread his arms and laughed. "As long as you're willing to be my friend, there's no end to what you can gain in the East Blue."

Then his laughter stopped. He lowered his arms, sat upright, and planted both hands on the table, watching Captain Nezumi through narrowed eyes.

"And the fact that you understand that proves you're a smart Marine captain."

He was smiling, but his eyes were icy cold.

Arlong was a bigot through and through.

He believed merfolk were born superior to humans and that humans who resisted merfolk defied the laws of nature. He ruled the humans under his control with an iron fist and treated their lives as worthless.

Greedy and brutal, he also worshipped money, believing it was the best and most reliable thing in the world.

A little cold sweat broke out on Nezumi's brow under Arlong's stare. He forced a laugh. "Sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."

"Shahahaha! Why bring that up now?"

"Good relations make good money!"

Arlong leaned back and relaxed.

He laughed at Nezumi. "Money's a wonderful thing. You can trust it more than anything else."

"I hate humans, but someone sensible like you is an exception."

Nezumi felt deeply uncomfortable as he looked at Arlong.

He knew Arlong's words were nonsense, but he still had to smile along and keep nodding.

Arlong was stronger than he was, and the Fish-Man was his meal ticket.

Only when Arlong finally finished talking did Nezumi hurry to his feet. "Well, I'll be taking my leave for today."

He didn't want to stay a moment longer. The Fish-Men around him looked at him like livestock, making his skin crawl.

Just then, a mocking voice came from atop the wall to their left.

"Leave?"

"Where do you think you're going?"

"You'd better wait. You can all go to Hell together!"

"Who's there?"

The twenty-odd Fish-Men lounging or sitting beside the pools, along with Arlong and Nezumi's group, all turned toward the high wall on the left.

Two people had appeared atop it without anyone noticing.

They were Kuta and Kuina.

They had been standing on the wall, listening to Arlong and Nezumi for a while.

Kuta had waited until Captain Nezumi was about to leave before speaking.

Seeing only two humans, the Fish-Men by the pools relaxed and went back to what they were doing.

Arlong, however, seethed with hostility.

Those two humans dared stand above him. Why should a member of the great Fish-Man Race have to look up at humans, a lowly species?

He would rather they had smashed through his wall than stood on top of it.

He glared viciously at the pair.

"You're just two humans, yet you dare enter my territory and threaten my guest? You must have a death wish!"

He crushed the wineglass in his hand, spilling wine into his palm.

Clenching the wine and glass shards together, he whipped his arm toward Kuta and Kuina.

Neither of them flinched as the glass shards and droplets of wine shot toward them.

A red gleam flashed in both their eyes. With slight tilts of their heads, they dodged.

Kuina had fixed her gaze on Captain Nezumi the moment she reached the wall. His appearance was so striking that she could tell at a glance he was a traitor.

Kuta watched Arlong with interest, making no effort to hide the disgust and indifference in his eyes.

That look—as though Arlong were a fish laid out on a chopping board—sent him into a rage.

Ever since he had come to the East Blue, he had been the one to look at humans that way. Since when did humans dare look at him like that?

His eyes turned bloodred, gleaming with bloodlust. He glared at Kuta and roared,

"Brothers, tear them apart!"

Arlong's murderous command rang throughout Arlong Park.

The Fish-Men beside the pools had already risen when Arlong crushed his glass and attacked.