Chapter 22: First Obstacle

Once Drake was satisfied with the destruction she had wrought, she lowered the Hind into the harbor attached to Arlong Park. Then, while Atalanta and Astolfo kept watch over their ship, she disembarked with Thomas, Chiron, Musashi, and Benienma.

Seeing the destruction caused by Drake's Noble Phantasm, Thomas couldn't help asking, "Think you might have overdone it a bit? We were supposed to capture, not kill them..."

While he had no intention of holding back against Arlong, Thomas would rather the group end up rotting in Impel Down than six feet under. One of their members, Hachi, an Octopus Fishman, also had a close relationship with one of Thomas's favorite One Piece characters, a man known as the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh. The latter was the second in Command of the Roger Pirates, so Thomas would rather not make an enemy out of the kind yet exceptionally powerful old man.

Giving Thomas a sidelong stare, Drake remarked, "Yet again, you appear to have forgotten who you're dealing with. With my EX-Rank Luck, do you think I would 'accidentally' kill someone? A few of them might have grave or fatal injuries, but I can pretty much guarantee they're alive."

Though it was difficult to believe, Thomas nodded in response to Drake's words. He recalled a scene in Avengers Endgame where Thanos's flagship bombarded the Avengers' Compound with dozens of missiles, completely leveling the heavily reinforced building and even cracking apart the earth beneath it. Yet, despite the destruction, several ordinary humans emerged from the plasma-based explosions completely unharmed...

Lending credibility to Drake's claim, a rather disgusting-looking man with massive red lips, light-blue skin, and curly brown hair crawled from the wreckage of a nearby building. He was covered head to toe in injuries, but he was very clearly alive as he raised a pair of maraca-like clubs and said, "You...despicable humans! You dare...sneak attack...the Arlong Pirates...!?"

Seeing the maraca-wielding Fishmen, Thomas inadvertently scowled. He didn't consider himself specist, but the blue-skinned man was a lot uglier than he was anticipating the Fishmen to be. While there appeared to be a cel-shaded filter applied to the world, it possessed a touch of realism that even the most advanced anime lacked. The Fishman in front of him might have appeared fairly ordinary through the lens of anime, but he resembled a 'monster' in real life...

Voicing Thomas's thought aloud, Drake remarked, "That's one ugly fish..." before aiming her pistol at the severely injured man and asking, "And you want to try and 'befriend' these monsters?"

As Thomas had explained the circumstances surrounding Fishman Island and characters such as Neptune and Shirahoshi, Drake had been looking forward to visiting the mysterious underwater kingdom. Now that she saw what Fishmen actually looked like, she was significantly less enthusiastic.

Though he felt similarly, Thomas forced himself to say, "We can't judge people based on their outward appearance. There are kind-hearted and noble Fishmen. Mermaids are also famed worldwide for their beauty, so we shouldn't base our opinion of their entire species on a few outliers..."

Since Thomas knew more about the world than she did, Drake replied with a half-hearted, "If you say so..." before pulling the triggers of her ornate flintlocks, shooting the maracas out of the wounded Fishman's hands. For good measure, she also blew out his knee, leaving the blue-skinned man curled up in pain as she turned to Thomas and said, "Let's get this over with."

Despite feeling as though things had already ended, Thomas gave a curt nod, following silently and attentively as Drake led the way into the heart of the destroyed park. Along the way, they found several other severely injured Fishmen, but, as Drake had attested, none of them were dead. A few looked like they were barely clinging to life, but the rain pouring down on them from above caused their wounds to slowly close up, healing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Noticing how rapidly some of the Fishmen were recovering, Drake ordered Chiron to begin tying them up. Even the weakest member of Arlong's crew had a Bounty of around 3,000,000 Belly. When summed up, the Wild Hunt was looking at a minimum payday of 72,500,000 Belly, 64,500,000 if they excluded Hachi, so Drake wouldn't permit a single one of them to escape.

While Drake was envisioning the Hind's cargo bay filled with treasure, a large stone came barreling at her head with enough force to leave a trail through the rain. She effortlessly destroyed it with a casual shot from her pistol before narrowing her eyes in amusement as the person who threw it at her, a hulking Fishman with pale-blue skin, visibly pulsating gills, shark-like teeth, and a nose resembling a saw blade.

Recognizing the 263cm tall, incredibly fierce-looking Fishman as Arlong, a teasing smile developed across Drake's face as she turned to Thomas and said, "Look's like you're up."

Recovering from the horrified stupor he had fallen into upon seeing Arlong in person, Thomas resisted the urge to back down, replying, "Just leave it to me..." as he stepped forward, a hazy blue aura immediately enveloping his fists and body. Arlong was 'a lot' bigger than he was expecting, but he wasn't going to back down without a fight...

Seeing Thomas approaching him, Arlong's eyes became increasingly bloodshot as he growled, "You disgusting and cowardly humans...you can't defeat us fairly, so you attack us from a distance with weapons instead of depending on your pathetic strength..."

Exhaling through his nose, Thomas continued to gather Magical Energy into his fists as he responded, "Listen, man. I honestly don't give a damn about the hate between humans and Fishmen. I know you went through some shit as a child, but all you've accomplished since then is ensuring your people will continue to suffer and be discriminated against..."

As his left arm was both broken and dislocated, Arlong waved his right hand, propelling drops of rain like sharp needles as he bellowed, "Don't you dare talk down to me, you human trash!"

Crossing his arms to protect his eyes, Thomas's heart beat like a drum as his body was peppered with a stinging sensation. None of the droplets managed to pierce his defense, but they stung like decently-sized pieces of hail. Had he not veiled his body with Magical Energy, the casually flung droplets might have pierced several centimeters into his flesh...

Realizing it wasn't the best time for a dialogue, Thomas followed Arlong's surprise attack by rushing at the much taller man. Arlong's massive frame, sharp teeth, and saw-like nose filled him with alarm, but he knew that size wasn't the deciding factor in a world like One Piece.

Though he was slightly surprised by Thomas's speed, Arlong stood his ground and swept his webbed hand toward his would-be attacker like a horizontal guillotine. The hazy blue aura around Thomas's body made him feel slightly apprehensive, but he would never turn his back and flee from a human. Not after the last time...

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Ducking under Arlong's chop, Thomas landed a right straight in the man's muscular abdomen. A sound comparable to a sledgehammer striking a metal plate echoed through the surroundings, but, even though he was sent skidding back several meters, Arlong adopted a contemptuous sneer as he dusted off his abdomen and asked, "Seriously? You want to take me out with 'that' level of strength? Pathetic..."

With his left arm healing thanks to the rain, Arlong spread his arms in a challenging manner, his body visibly swelling until he was nearly three meters tall as he said, "You should have stayed on your ship and attacked from a distance. You, humans, were born inferior to Fishmen, so you have no hope of defeating us in a fair and just contest. All you can do is rely on your numbers, technology, and the power of Devil Fruits. Now, thanks to this blessing from the Heavens, I will show you where you stand..."

Punctuating his words, Arlong charged at Thomas with terrifying speed; his shark-like maw opened wide as he intended to take a bite out of the latter's shoulder. Fishmen were roughly ten times stronger than humans on land but twenty times stronger in the water. With rain blanketing the battlefield in sheets, Arlong was nearly as powerful on land as he was in the sea.

Panicking a bit, Thomas instinctually erected a magical barrier to protect himself from Arlong's charge. It cracked like glass as the latter's saw-like nose pierced into it but managed to hold its form and arrest the massive Fishman's momentum. Even Thomas wasn't expecting this, however, so he wasn't able to capitalize on the opportunity he had created. Instead, he stepped backward as Arlong grabbed the barrier and crushed it with his monstrous strength.

Spitting away the glass-like shards of Magical Energy in his mouth, Arlong adopted a taunting sneer as he said, "As I suspected. Just another human who ate a Devil Fruit and misconstrued the power it awarded as their own. Without relying on cheap tricks and outside power, you humans are just a bunch of pathetic worms..."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas asked, "And what about people like Gol D. Roger, Silvers Rayleigh, and Monkey D. Garp? Humans who haven't eaten a Devil Fruit yet can overpower even the strongest Fishmen with ease? Do they simply not exist in your distorted version of reality...?"

"..."

Taking advantage of Arlong's silence, Thomas added, "And don't forget about Dracule Mihawk, the fruitless members of the Revolutionary Army, the Happo Navy, and one of the literal Four Emperors, Red-haired Shanks. Then there are the members of Cipher Pol, Marines that have mastered-"

Annoyed by the countless examples discrediting his assertions of innate Fishmen superiority, Arlong swept his hands toward Thomas, interrupting him with a volley of hundreds of water droplets. Then, as Thomas moved to protect his face, Arlong charged toward him, using his webbed hand to grasp his opponent's head as he shouted, "Know your place...!"

As Arlong raised him from the ground with ease, the pupils of Thomas's eyes shrank to the size of pinholes as he abruptly changed direction, his face barreling toward the ground. He was fairly confident in his durability, but a tremendous amount of panic washed over him as he closed his eyes and prepared for the impact.

Before Thomas could eat hardened coral pavement, Arlong was sent flying back by a powerful kick, his body becoming a blur as he crashed through several ruined walls and disappeared into a mountain of debris. At the same time, an arm wrapped around Thomas's body, preventing him from crashing to the ground, as a familiar voice flatly remarked, "Once this is over with, I'm going to teach you how to wrestle properly..."

Opening his eyes, Thomas was both relieved and ashamed to find he was being held under Caenis's arm. The latter had been watching his fight as intently as she promised, so the moment it looked like he was in danger, she immediately stepped in to rescue him.

Setting Thomas on his feet, Caenis gave him a once-over, pretending to dust him off despite rain pouring down on them in buckets. Once she had confirmed he wasn't injured, she exhaled a faint sigh before crossing her arms in a condescending manner as she remarked, "You're really pathetic, you know that? Six months of training, and you can't even defeat a fish on land? From now on, you should stay back and leave everything to us until you've gained enough strength and experience to fight without tensing up or cowering like an idiot."

Though Caenis's words were more than a little biting, Thomas adopted a faint smile as he realized she was actually worried about him. He could be mistaken, but her action of checking him over for injuries before sighing in relief was pretty telling.

Before Thomas could potentially say something he might regret, Arlong erupted from the mountain of debris with bloodshot eyes and a gigantic sword resembling the teeth of a shark in his right hand. There was a literal footprint in the center of his chest, but even though he was clearly in immense pain, he pushed himself to his feet and growled, "Both of you are fucking dead..."

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(A/N: Caenis is letting her dere, not just her derriere, show...)

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