Viewed from above, the thorn forest surrounding the island extended a full thousand meters beyond it. The thorns were so dense that even a mouse would never find its way out once inside; the gaps between them were simply too small.
Only medium-sized sailing ships like Luffy's could enter or leave the island. Any larger vessel would be unable to reach its shores.
Even after reaching shore, another stretch of thorns blocked the way. The road from the coast to the village was lined entirely with thorns, with room for only three people to walk abreast. Any more would be scratched by them.
After finishing all this, Liu Qing looked at the people of Cocoyasi Village and said, "You're all people Nami cares about. To let her sail with us without worrying, this thorn forest will protect you. Just organize a team yourselves to guard the village. The path from the coast to the village only fits three people abreast. If pirates come, you can kill them right in the passage without waiting for them to come out. You don't need to worry about pirates firing cannonballs into the village, either. Cannonballs can't break through these thorns."
When Nami heard that the thorns were there to protect the village, her eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you, Liu Qing."
"It's nothing. We're the best of friends, after all," Liu Qing replied. Then he looked at Luffy and the others. "We can go in now. There's absolutely no way they can escape. For a thousand meters around the island, both the sea and the sky are filled with thorns. Not even a mouse could get out."
"I'll break down the gate. Monster Strength: Sky-Piercing Kick!" With that, Liu Qing kicked the gate. With a bang, the massive steel gate flew straight toward Arlong's face.
Three minutes earlier, when Luffy and the others arrived, Arlong had already heard the commotion outside. With the men he had sent to collect Beli that day still not back, he guessed that the villagers were preparing to rebel.
But Arlong wasn't worried in the slightest. He was confident that their strength as Fish-Men would let them crush the rebellion easily. So he brought out a chair and sat directly opposite the gate, planning to intimidate the villagers when they came in and rob them of the courage to rebel.
Arlong waited directly opposite the gate for two minutes, but no one came inside, and his contempt only grew.
What a bunch of weaklings. They've been outside the gate this long and still don't dare come in. Utter trash, Arlong thought.
Then he brought over some fruit and sat there, intending to see just when these villagers would finally come inside.
Just as he picked up a piece of watermelon and started eating, he heard a man outside shout, "Monster Strength: Sky-Piercing Kick!" He was thinking, What's wrong with him? Does he really need a move name just to kick a gate?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Arlong saw his solid-steel gate flying straight toward him. It was so fast that he had no time to react, and then Arlong went down in spectacular fashion.
Back to the moment Liu Qing kicked the gate.
The instant he sent the gate flying inside, everyone outside heard a scream of "Aah!" followed by the cracking of bones. They saw Arlong slammed into the wall by the gate, vomiting blood. The gate's frame had also severed his hand. Judging by the sound of breaking bones, most of the bones in his chest were probably shattered too. He was clearly finished.
All the Fish-Man underlings ran over. "Boss Arlong, are you okay? Don't die!"
"Uh... why were you sitting opposite the gate for no reason? Look, now you're hurt." Liu Qing looked at Arlong, utterly speechless.
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Nami, and the others also looked at Arlong with the expressions of the old man staring at his phone in that subway meme.
Seeing Arlong in such a state, Kuroobi and Hachi immediately flew into a rage. "Brothers, avenge Boss Arlong! Kill them! Charge!"
But apart from those two, not a single Fish-Man advanced.
Halfway through their charge, the two heard no one following them. They turned around, their eyes blazing with anger. "Why aren't you coming? Boss Arlong has always treated you so well. Now someone's beaten him like this, and you won't even fight?"
Fish-Man underling A said, "Kuroobi, we can't beat them."
Underling B said, "Yeah. Just kicking a gate left Boss Arlong like that. If they hit us, we'd definitely end up scattered in pieces."
Underling C said, "Yeah, and we can't escape, either. I was about to go out through the pool to have some fun, but the waterway was blocked by the same thorn trees as the ones outside the fence. I broke my sword hacking at them, and I didn't even scratch their bark."
Underling D said, "Let's surrender. That way we won't die. At worst, we'll be locked up in Impel Down. At least we'll live."
Just then, Luffy and the others interrupted their conversation.
Luffy said, "What are you thinking? Who said surrendering means you won't be killed? You dared bully our navigator, Nami. Even if you surrender, I'm still going to beat you up."
Sanji said, "That's right. You dared bully our adorable Nami! Just wait until I turn you into fish balls."
"What are you yapping about? I'm going first." Zoro went straight into Three-Sword Style. "Three-Sword Style: Tiger Hunt! Oni Giri! One Sword Style: Dragon Blaze! Lion's Song!" Zoro didn't play fair, opening with his strongest moves as he charged into the crowd of Fish-Man pirates and tore into them.
"Zoro, you're cheating! You didn't wait for us! Gum-Gum Gatling! Gum-Gum Whip! Gum-Gum Battle Axe!" Luffy snapped out of it and immediately rushed over.
"They're all small fry anyway. Whatever." Sanji followed close behind, unleashing all kinds of kicks on them.
As for Nami and Usopp, the two sat watching the show on a bench Liu Qing had made with Wood Release.
Meanwhile, Liu Qing went to the drawing tower that Nami had hated in the original story and unleashed Monster Strength Fist. With a single punch, the entire building shattered into debris that fell to the ground.
Time passed, and half an hour later, every Fish-Man had been beaten into a dead fish except Hachi, whom Nami had saved because he had often helped her.
Arlong, already badly injured and pinned in the wall by the massive steel gate, watched Luffy and the others slaughter all his fellow Fish-Men. After coughing up several more mouthfuls of blood, he croaked.
"Hachi, leave the East Blue. I don't want to see you Fish-Men appear in the East Blue ever again. Thank you for helping me, but I still hate you Fish-Men," Nami said, looking coldly at Hachi.
And so the Arlong Pirates' rule came to an end. Just as Hachi emerged from the thorn-lined path onto the shore and set off through the sea toward the Grand Line, a Marine warship was slowly approaching Cocoyasi Village.
Aboard the Marine warship, a Marine came to Captain Nezumi's room and knocked on the door. "Reporting, Captain Nezumi. Cocoyasi Village's island is surrounded by unidentified thorns. By our estimate, they cover a thousand meters beyond the island. There's only one opening to get in, but it's too small. The warship may not fit."
"What the hell? Those weren't here last time we came. Come on, let's take a look." Nezumi got up and left.
Leaving his room and standing on the deck, Nezumi stared in bewilderment at the island surrounded by a thorn forest.
A moment later, Captain Nezumi summoned his men. "Try firing the cannons at those thorns."
Boom, boom, boom! After several dozen cannonballs were fired in succession, the Marine watching through binoculars from the lookout tower reported, "Captain, the cannon fire had no effect at all. I didn't see even a single thorn fall off."
"In that case, lower the boats. Leave a few men aboard to guard the warship. Everyone else will take the boats into the village," Captain Nezumi ordered.
Having finished fighting the Arlong Pirates, Luffy and the others had only just arrived at Nami's home. Before they could even have a drink of water, they heard explosions from beyond the shore.
Genzo looked furious. "That must be Captain Nezumi from the nearby Marine 16th Branch. That bastard is in league with Arlong. Arlong must have called him over to collect his cut. Damn him! A Marine working with pirates to oppress ordinary people!"
"Come on, Luffy. Let's go take a look. If possible, we'll take care of them too. You do it yourself. You'll definitely be fine killing this bunch of Marines," Liu Qing told Luffy.
At the shore.
While they waited there, Genzo told Luffy and the others about the deeds of the Marine 16th Branch and Captain Nezumi's various crimes.
Hearing this, the anger Luffy and the others had felt over the Arlong Pirates, which had already subsided, flared up again. They had never imagined that the Marines, who represented justice, would join forces with pirates to oppress the people, plunder their wealth, and cover for pirates.
Zoro said, "No wonder. No wonder Arlong ruled Cocoyasi Village so brutally for so long without being arrested by the Marines. It turns out Captain Nezumi was covering for him."
Sanji followed up. "Yeah. Someone like that shouldn't be allowed to keep living. Otherwise, once I leave, new pirates will come rule this place. Even Liu Qing's thorns won't be able to protect it. After all, Marines and pirates have guns. Even if only three people can advance at a time, as long as they're willing to make sacrifices, they'll still break through."
Usopp said, "Exactly. The villagers don't have guns. Unless we get rid of Captain Nezumi, this place will still be in danger."
"Then we'll beat them to a pulp. I'll never allow villains like that to exist," Luffy said firmly.
They waited a little longer.
A dozen or so Marine boats arrived. Captain Nezumi disembarked, looked at everyone waiting there, and immediately said, "What are you all waiting here for? Get out of the way. Where's Arlong? Why hasn't he come?"
Sanji laughed as soon as he heard Nezumi's words. "Arlong? Haha! He died just a few minutes before you started firing your cannons. If you want to find him, you might have to go to hell."
"Impossible. People like you couldn't possibly defeat Arlong. They're Fish-Men." Nezumi clearly didn't believe him. "All of you, get out of my way. I'm going to Arlong Park to see what's going on."
"Go ahead. We'll come with you," Liu Qing said.
Luffy, Nami, and the others said nothing, merely looking at the Marines with odd expressions. The Fish-Men's bodies hadn't been dealt with yet. They were all still lying inside the park.
Before you continue